Live 4 Metal - Reviews

Cataract - Cataract (Metal Blade) Review by Steve Green
	I thought that last year was a very good year for Metal Blade in terms of the overall quality of their releases, and they seem to be doing exactly the same all over again this year, with this album being a prime example of the quality they are unleashing at present. This is ten tracks of prime, European, ass kicking Thrash. Hearing Cataract for the first time recreates the same feeling as hearing Slayer or The Haunted for the first time. Its goose-pimple time all over again. Do you really need me to sell this to you? Not really, the music really does a fantastic job of it all by itself. All you need to know is that Cataract are a no-frills, heads down and tear the
place up Thrash band. Frontman Fedi screams his balls off at every opportunity and this is one hell of a pit inducing stomp. This is music that pumps up the adrenaline, gets your head moving and your heart beating faster than is recommended, especially if you are getting old... like me. And if they recreate this sort of excitement in the studio, I wonder how intense their live show is? This album blew me away so much, I've already purchased a very nice digi-pack of their previous album Kingdom, and I intend buying this album when it's released next week as I want the bonus disc containing 11 cover versions. Can you imagine Cataract ripping through The Ramones Blitzkrieg Bop, Pantera's Fucking Hostile and Motley Crue's Kickstart My Heart!!! Awesome. www.cataract.cc

Dark Fortress - Eidolon (Century Media) By: Dave Schalek
	German stalwarts Dark Fortress return with their fifth full-length, a concept album centered on astral projection entitled “Eidolon”, released on Century Media Records. Dark Fortress’ bread and butter is melodic, mildly symphonic black metal with heavy leanings towards mid-period Dimmu Borgir for inspiration. Naturally, it would be quite easy to label the band as solidly second tier, and if you’re talking about the first two albums that would be a fair assessment. However, “Stab Wounds” and “Séance”, the last two full-lengths, had a greater tendency to shred it up and were much more memorable. “Eidolon” has the band somewhat shifting gears again, with a mix of nine songs ranging from
riff-driven all out blasts to periods of melody and a couple of mid-paced dirges, most notably “Baphomet”, a track which features none other than a guest vocal appearance from Tom G. Warrior himself (Dark Fortress guitarist V. Santura has toured as Celtic Frost’s second guitarist). Melody comes in the form of mid-paced tempos with some overlaying guitar solos, and some muted keyboards which, while present, do not overwhelm the music. A few theatrical tricks, sort of like a muted version of King Diamond (minus the falsetto), are present with some bombastic vocal effects that make appearances in some of the album’s slower moments, which generally occur in the middle of the album. The album finishes with a flourish of faster tracks. Overall, “Eidolon” is a competent, well-played effort from Dark Fortress but, unfortunately, doesn’t really raise the status of Dark Fortress from the second tier. The songwriting is rather underwhelming, and the songs don’t really stick with you. Usually, solid musicianship is a hallmark in a second tiered act as is mediocre songwriting, and that’s exactly what we have here in the form of “Eidolon”. www.thetruedarkfortress.com/ \| www.centurymedia.com/

Dog Faced Gods - Spit In My Eye (VooDoo Nation) Review by Metal Mark
	I couldn’t hear this band’s moniker without thinking of the Testament song of the same name. However these guys don’t sound like Testament as instead they are somewhat like a cross between Creed and Alice in Chains, but perhaps with more metal leanings at least as far as the music is concerned. They are reasonably tight and concise and waste little time cutting to the heart of their songs. The vocals are solid enough and fit in fairly well with the music. However the music often slows down a bit too much once the vocals kick in and too often I get the impression that the music is gliding rather than building to a peak. That may just be their kind of approach, but the way they started most of the tracks had me thinking
they were going to push the boundaries a lot more. I like the guitar sound, but the lack of following up their initial momentum just made them sound a little too safe and predictable. Above average for certain, but they never manage to bust out of their pattern and everything just seems a bit too planned out for me. www.dogfacedgods.com \| www.myspace.com/dogfacedgods

Firewind - The Premonition (Century Media) By: Joe Florez
	It’s been a mere two years since their strong comeback album Allegiance struck our ears. I say comeback cause Forged In Fire was just a complete lackluster of a disc. On this release, the line up is strong obviously thanks to Gus G. at the helm with his axe and former Helloween skin basher Mark Cross pounding away while Bob Katsionis works his magic on the ivory keys. “Into The Fire” is a song that sounds like it’s shot right out of the cannon. Gus’s finger work is nimble and quick while Mark’s foot work flies by and the keyboard wizardry soars when required. While everyone is on target here, there is nothing fresh being added to the mix. It’s pretty standard stuff. Apollo’s vocals on “Head Up High” are
powerful and distinct as everyone fires on all cylinders. Plenty of muscle is exercised here. If you are already familiar with the bands power chords and high impact energy then this release won’t shock you and will be pleased with it for the most part. The one thing I didn’t hear coming was the cover of Michael Sembello’s “Maniac.” It was the theme song to the movie Flashdance. When I heard the familiar keyboard work in the beginning, I thought it was a joke, but it wasn’t. Despite the fact that the guitars are much crunchier and the overall tone is heavier, it’s still cheesy, but sort of a guilty pleasure song. In the end while I think this is a very good disc. I do believe that some of the passion is gone because we have heard all of this before and there is nothing new being added to the equation. You would think that with this much talent the boys would do their best to create something that doesn’t sound like everyone else. Typical power/true/metal heads will eat this up, but should expect more. www.centurymedia.com \| www.firewind.gr

Izegrim - Tribute To Totalitarianism (Rusty Cage) Review by Steve Green
	I'm not one for politically motivated music, but fellow L4M scribe Chris Davison's interest in Izegrim's EP and its brave lyrical stance, left me wanting to investigate their ideology further. But alas, no lyric sheet was to be found within the very smart digi-pack that housed this cd, so bar the album title and their obvious distaste for this fucked up world, I'm none the wiser, although the tirade about "suicidal lunatics" during Hell On Earth, does reveal the odd clue. As much as I love my Metal, the subject matters can, at times, get a little stale, so it is genuinely good to hear a band who want to step outside of the norm and are willing to
create something just a little bit more intellectually stimulating than the usual tales of death and destruction. Getting stuck into the musical side of things, Izegrim are a Dutch Thrash band, with a female singer, of the growling variety. And while there are bound to be Angela Gossow comparisons, Kristien's voice is, in my opinion, more in keeping with Cadaveria's (ex- Opera 1X) And yes, she growls like she really means business. I'm sure the extreme female vocal style will gain the band an extra bit of attention, but trust me, their music will do that for them without any gimmicks. Izegrim aren't doing anything different or radical, they are just doing their thing, and doing it very well indeed. Best of all, they steer clear of all the obvious clichés of the genre and have instead focussed on dealing with the world issues that affect us all. Check 'em out via www.izegrim.nl

Mouthful Of Flies - Ten : Negative : Sixes (Speeding Demon Records) Reviewed by Marco Gaminara
	I'll be the 1st to admit that I've had this CD in my laptop since September when I bought it for my birthday. Yeah, I'm like that, I buy myself gifts that I know I'm going to like and enjoy. And I guess you can probably add the fact that I know the majority of the band personally. Daniel Stevenson (Vox and Guitars) is the cousin of a friend whom I worked with for years in ZA. Kev Parker (Drums) I've known for a couple years and met through friends in the UK. And then there's Dean Smith (Guitars and Backing Vox) whom I've known for well over a decade, played gigs with in ZA and was in the 1st metal band I ever saw live. Jake Findlay (Bass) is the only one I haven't actually met personally. All that said,
that's the live line-up, the studio line-up is Dan (Vox and Guitars), Dean (Guitars, Drums and Backing Vox) and Robi Smith (Bass) who happens to be Dean's brother currently residing in Canada. Granted a little of that info can be gleamed from the website, but not the personal info I have. ;-) Now onto the music. It's been a fucking age since I've heard Dean on the drums, as he played guitars in the bands we jammed with and the other one I mentioned above, needless to say, it's as tight as an android duck's arse and provides the perfect battery over which Dan and Dean can lay their powerful and energetic riffs. The vocals range from harshly abrasive thrash shouts to even more harshly abrasive crooning. Melodically they are ultra fast thrash, but manage to throw in plenty of really staccato tempos which were more popular in the 90's, along with plenty of harmonic squeals. Opening track "Deadened Soul" lays down the foundation which "March Of The Clones" builds on and thing just go from strength to strength from there. The quasi crooning I mentioned takes place in "Believe The Lie" where the heartfelt lyrics are scything when sung in this way. "Blatant Frenzy" is far more controlled than its title makes out and its principle melody is extremely catchy, for lack of a better term, and actually more frantic is "Breeder", while "Lost" has nothing to do with the TV show. Slowing things down a little, "Ingrained" is more mid-paced with an extremely biting snare, then "Living The Nightmare" starts up with a lead solos that hark back to the 80's trade-offs done by the best of them. Solidifying the MoF sound is "Black Magick" with its long sustains, harmonic squeals and pounding tempo that shall get many a pit going completely bezerk. Wrapping everything up, rather neatly, is "Strange Days" which with a steady beat 'keeps the fuckers running' and shall have you listening to the CD again, as it's done for me over the last 6 months. www.mouthful-of-flies.com

Spinal Cord - Stigmata of Life (Metal Mind) Review by Chris Davison
	I really, really like Devilyn. They are a Polish death metal band, having released a number of albums in their native country which I have picked up on some of my infrequent trips to that wonderful country. Now, I'm not sure where I read this, and I may of in fact dreamt it (being far too lazy to do any research: knock yourselves out), but I do think that the band were pissed off with Novy (ex-Behemoth, Vader), when he left them for the afore mentioned bigger bands. How excellent then, to see that Spinal Cord not only feature Novy, but also other members of Devilyn. I do love a happy ending! Spinal Cord are a really engaging listen, and like many of the Metal Mind re-releases of the
Empire records originals, this is from a little way back, 2004 in fact. That being said, this has stood the test of time rather excellently, and I would have thought that listening to it that it had been released much more recently than that. Twelve tracks rattle past, few of them actually over the three minute mark, but if you're expecting simple music, then you'd be wrong. This is nicely flavoured death metal with strong progressive and minor thrash elements, but moreover many of the tracks here and very memorable. At one turn, they can be producing Behemoth-like exercises in nicely ethnically flavoured metal, such as with the stunning “Retrospection”, while the next moment the flowing guitar solos and almost-classical metal influences of “Mind Killer” merge with jarring, almost Voi-vod like time changes and drumming interruptions. It isn't an easy listen, that's for sure. You're going to have to invest some time and effort in order to get the most out of this, but given wide enough exposure, this could really make a name for itself as a minor gem. Fellow Poles Yattering were a band that I often wanted to like, but their brand of technical death metal was far too technical and not nearly entertaining enough for me to truly like. Spinal Cord have created music that somehow seems to straddle that fine line between being complicated enough to keep me truly engaged over subsequent listens, but filled with enough hooks that investing time in it doesn't feel like a chore. Pole-phile that I am (steady at the back, innuendo fans), I feel pre-disposed to recommending this to you, but my love for the plains of that eastern land aside, you should try and secure yourself a copy of this. Proof indeed that progressive metal need not be the sole preserve of the bearded Rush fan. www.metalmind.com.pl/index.php?jezyk=en

To-Mera - Delusions (Candlelight) Review by James Young
	England doesn’t have much of a prog metal scene to talk about, so when a band comes along which sets tongues wagging as To-mera have, it’s usually worth taking note. Having seen them in slots supporting bands such as Emperor and Dream Theater, they must be doing the right thing in getting themselves noticed too. So do they live up to the hype? After listening to this album a few times, it seems to largely hit the spot, although it still seems that the band is trying to find its own sound. Firstly, let it be said that there is nothing wrong with combining prog, symphonic, jazz, and occasionally black metal instrumental sections with a gothic-esque female voice, because the mix sounds extremely pleasant. The one gripe I had
with the album is that every song seems to try and incorporate all of these elements, which comes across as a bit of a mish-mash of ideas. Any progressive metal fan should be at ease with song lengths of seven to nine minutes, which is the case for the majority of songs on this album. I just feel they could have kept one as exclusively a soft number, or maybe dedicated one song as an instrumental, rather than cramming everything into every song. That being said, when they are going full steam, there is a nice original sound, which is a fresh addition to the scene, and for that fact alone, this album is worth checking out. Being a fan of Without Face, Julie Kiss’ vocals are a treat as usual, and float over the rest of the instruments in a dreamy fashion. Her voice has matured to the extent that in the swing and softer sections, she sounds like a genuine jazz vocalist. Another extremely strong point of this band is the guitarwork, courtesy of the talented Tom MacLean, who gets to showcase his technicality and creativity throughout the album. As it has already been alluded to, it’s difficult to sum up the sound, which varies so greatly not only from song to song, but within the songs themselves. A comparison could be made with Opeth, with ‘A Sorrow To Kill’ and the intro from ‘Fallen From Grace’ sounding very similar at times. The keyboards, like Opeth, are used to enhance the atmosphere, and give some justification for calling this band ‘dark’ in places; the tinkling in the verses of ‘The Lie’ and ‘Inside The Hourglass’ for example add a haunting atmosphere to the songs. However, unlike the Swedish prog-death metallers, the keyboards in both of these songs turn outright symphonic for the choruses. ‘The Lie’ even includes a wall-of-sound similar to the early days of black metal band Emperor, which just goes to show how versatile the sound can be. In pretentiously excellent prog style, when things get technical, they’re jaw-droppingly magnificent. ‘Inside The Hourglass’ contains a nice little break which oozes musical precision, but the jazzy guitar-keyboard tradeoffs in ‘Asylum’ and ‘Temptation’ are surely the most over-the-top instrumental sections in the album, which certainly keep you guessing as to what will happen next. This is a promising listen, and hopefully the band will show more focus in their next release, whilst retaining all the elements which makes their sound so interesting. Nevertheless, England finally has a talented and upcoming progressive metal act we can be proud to call our own. www.to-mera.com \| www.myspace.com/tomeraband \| www.candlelightrecords.co.uk

Vyper - Prepared To Strike (Retrospect) Review by Metal Mark
	I remember hearing the track “Diamonds” by Vyper on a local late night metal radio show and thinking “this is cool, but I've never heard of them”. I think a number of people who heard this Kansas City, Missouri based band thought the same thing. They came in fast having formed in 1983 and then released their “Prepared To Strike” LP in 1984 and the “Afraid Of The Dark” EP in 1985. However, not long after the EP their label folded and the band would eventually break up not long after that. So they came and went rather fast, but they have always had a bit of a cult status as they obviously made an impression on a number of fans. Well, the band is apparently back together as they are set to play
Rocklahoma this summer on a side stage. Also both the LP and the EP, plus a demo track of their shredder “Dealer” is now officially available on CD for the first time. So if we pull away all the years, the rumors and the mystery, were these guys any good? The answer is yes, they were good although I think would also add them to a short list labeled “80’s bands who I wished had done at least one more album”. I say this because I think that not only were they solid, but they were improving right before they broke up as the new songs on the EP had them moving forward. Vyper kind of rode the line between hard rock and metal as perhaps half of their songs would wind in each of those categories as they sounds little like a cross between Dokken and early Y & T. The lyrics were of the high cheese variety and the music was sometimes a little repetitive. However Christy Black was a fine singer who could nail the melodies and bring a hard edge when called upon as well. The guitarists impressed me most with their solos which avoided the typical flash and dash style that was so popular and really hit on some memorable rhythmic patterns instead. It’s too easy to “what if”, such as what if these guys were on a larger label or had moved to bigger market well maybe it would have turned out differently for them because they had the talent. At least now we are getting to hear their music at long last on CD.