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Burzum - Lord Of Darkness (Anthology)
(Candlelight Records USA)
By: Dave Schalek |
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Seriously, what could I say about Varg Vikernes and Burzum
that hasn’t already been said and endlessly discussed ad
nauseum? Nothing. Therefore, I won’t even try. Regardless of
your opinion of the man, his ramblings, and his “ideology”,
there’s no denying his impact upon black metal and, it can be
argued, extreme music and art as a whole.
Strangely enough, the Burzum discography has never been given
full treatment for a domestic American audience; that is to
say, a domestic release. An oversight, to say the least, and a
business opportunity if there ever was one within black metal
(of course, this is assuming that Misanthropy Records and
Vikernes himself would ever authorize such |
releases). To that end, Candlelight Records USA releases “Lord
Of Darkness (Anthology)”, an anthology covering Burzum’s official
releases, including the “Aske” EP. Presented in order from
“Burzum” to “Hlidskjalf”, eight tracks are covered here as
well as a video track of “Dunkelheit”, perhaps my favorite
Burzum song from the classic “Filosofem” album.
Ultimately, those of you that already have the Burzum
discography will not find anything new here, but Americans
that have not yet heard Burzum and are interested in black
metal will no doubt want to pick this up to sample Vikernes’
art. Also, to some extent, Candlelight Records USA is taking a
chance with its association with Vikernes and I’m more than
curious about the timing of this release. Isn’t Vikernes
supposed to be paroled this month? Will a future Burzum
release be in the offering on Candlelight Records? Hmmmm…
Post script: This is not the highly suspect “Anthology” from
2002.
www.candlelightrecordsusa.com |
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Celestial Bloodshed - Cursed, Scarred and Forever Possessed
(Debemur-Morti) Review by Crin |
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Norwegian Black Metal has many faces, and yet the one true
face is that of Mayhem, Thorns and Burzum. Within these bands
alone resides the TRUE icy ethos of the genre, an ethos much
replicated, much respected. Celestial Season are of the old
school style of raw primitive aural bombardment. There are no
keyboards to temper the rabid jaws of the satanic hunger, no
palette of colour, just black and white, flesh crawling Black
Metal.
Like Throne of Katarsis and LJA, the guitars rip into the air
like sharpened battle horns impaling the splintered shields of
angels. The sound has a thicker core that the more fuzzy
Darkthrone primitivisms, and yet both caustic styles share the
same corpse painted, forest |
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dwelling panoramic visions. The music here is a journey into
Hell with fast and slow songs, both merging to form a chilling
aural plague. This band are bursting with energy, ideas and
blazing songs that are both melodic and bile dripping. There
is not much originality, but that is not the music’s purpose.
The purpose is to create the near perfect Black Metal sound,
and that is something they've very nearly created here. |
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Deathspirit - Self Titled
(Let It Burn) Review by Steve Green
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I suspect that the neat booklet that comes with this
release took longer to create than the cd itself. This is four
tracks of, in your face, no compromise hardcore, that doesn't
let up in the cd's brief nine minute duration. This is a band
who don't give a fuck for trends or any other music related
bullshit, and it shows in the unforgiving performance on this
single. This is a condensed lesson in brutality that's even
more convincing for the shortness of the songs, kind of like a
rawer version of Slayer letting rip on Minor Threat's, I Don't
Want To Hear It, on their Undisputed Attitude album. For a
lesson in brutality, visit
www.myspace.com/deathisaninsulttothespirit
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Elvira Madigan - Regent Sie (Black
Lodge) Review by Steve Green |
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The literature that accompanies review cds can at times
make you howl with laughter. The biog for Elvira Madigan
suggests that fans of Cradle of Filth, Bathory and Sabbat will
enjoy this cd, and at another point, it's remarked that the
the ingredients for the bands sound includes "a pinch of
Cradle of Filth". Let me put you straight on one thing: This
album is, at times, a complete and utter Cradle of Filth
clone. The symphonics, the pacing, and more importantly, the
vocals, are all down to Dani Filth and Co. I'd even wager that
this album is more cloned than Dolly the fucking sheep.
So that's were you have to make your choice. Quite obviously,
if you hate Cradle of Filth,
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then this album will hold no interest for you. But if you want
to delve into the huge chasm that is the concept behind Regent Sie, then there's longevity
in the repeated listens you'll need to take this all in.
Behind the Filthisms, there's a lot of Progression and
Orchestral pieces to absorb. While my comparisons are based on
the ease of describing this album, it's obvious that the band
have put a lot of effort into creating this piece of work. The
end result, for me, isn't an easy listen. I'm not a fan of the
production, as it lacks the power of, say, Dimmu Borgir. But
then again, I doubt they had the same budget. And the whole
concept is too disjointed and I don't detect a natural flow,
something that'll lose a lot of listeners. But for those that
want a challenge, then you'll be in concept heaven. With 23
tracks and a running time approaching 75 minutes, you'll be
rewarded with a huge piece of work to immerse yourselves in.
Unfortunately, I just couldn't grasp the enormity of it all.
www.blacklodge.se |
www.myspace.com/elviramadigan |
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Hate Eternal - Fury & Flames
(Metal Blade) review by Sam
Thomas |
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Fury & Flames is Hate Eternal’s fourth foray into the world of
brutally uncompromising death metal. And it’s one of those
where you get exactly what you expect to get from their
previous releases, the artwork and even the track titles
(“Hell Envenom”, “Proclamation of the Damned”, “Fury Within”).
From the opening moment, right up to the last track, that is.
Because the final track, “Coronach” is a rather interesting
anomaly. It’s more of a symphonic outro with female vocals
that just threw me on the first listen.
Other than that, you get just under forty minutes (reminds me
of the days when Deep Purple seemed to be calculating the
absolute minimum time they could get away with recording for |
a CD) of heavy, battering metal. It’s almost like an extremely
rich chocolate cake: I’m very fond of chocolate cake, but
occasionally it can be just too rich, too dense for comfort.
And that’s kind of how I feel with this CD – it’s exactly what
I expected, but there’s no let-up from the constant onslaught.
The drumming in particular is superb, adding as it does a
whole new meaning to the phrase “assault and battery”. And I
do like the way that the guitar sound does manage to crawl out
from the sheer weight of the drums from time to time, to soar
away above the deranged vocals. Until someone beats the poor
bastard back into his box, of course.
Basically, this is Hate Eternal. But more concentrated.
www.metalblade.de |
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Hate Squad - Degüello Wartunes
(Dockyard 1) Review by Marco Gaminara |
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The band's name is so familiar, but perhaps that's just me
mistaking it for a Sacred Reich track or Hate Sphere, but then
when you consider that they've been around for 15 years, the
name must've come up for me somewhere. Regardless, they have
now released their 5th full length album in the form of 'Degüello
Wartunes' and its H8core all the way, with heavy growled
vocals and occasional screams from Burkhard Schmitt, insane
skin battering by Helge Dolgener and accompaniment by Bauke De
Groot on the bass. Mark Künnemann and Martin Blankenburg share
guitar duties, along with quickly changing rhythms and
trade-offs. "Rise Up" is going to do far more in a live
setting than just have |
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people mosh, it ought to have them
ripping the place a new one... and then go on a "Killing
Spree" for good measure. Taking a slightly more sombre tempo,
"At The End Alone" has all the trappings of angst and
dejection mingled with resentment and anger that it usually
breeds. Sounding absolutely nothing like Overkill's Hello from
the same place, "Anger From The Gutter" blazes on at a
moderate pace a step up from the previous track and setting
the tone for the following track "Aggro Manticore" which is
rather aggressive, but "Never Surrender...Die Fighting!" takes
things to a new level and is unrelenting in it's aural assault
on the senses, and hopefully drives home the band's passion to
stand up for their ideals. The guitar melodic harmonies on "My
War" however are a bit misleading, as they mask the intensity
of the other instruments and barked vocals. Having coined
their own musical genre they might as well write a song about
"Hannover H8core" to describe what it's all about, no?
Last up, there
are some very Machine Head like harmonics used on "Rivers Of
Blood", along with very steady kick-drum frenzy, which
bring the album to a satisfactory conclusion.
www.hatesquad.com
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www.dockayrd1.com |
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Jenx - Fuseless (Massacre) Review
by Steve Green |
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This is an album that I tend to put on when I've work to do
on the site, but when I'm not in the mood for reviewing. I'm
into the groove within the first minute of opener Hole, and I'm
then in the zone. Jenx are a French band that combine
Industrial Metal, with a backbone of Thrash. The Thrash, for me,
feels like Max-era Sepultura. There's something about Xavier
Bertrand's voice that recreates that heady, early 90s feel of
Chaos AD and there are plenty of opportunities to bounce along
to the, well bouncy, rhythms. But the Industrial overtones are
king on Fuseless and it is they, that rule the roost here. Jenx
aren't as heavy, as say, Ministry or Red Harvest, but they
have an atmospheric side that reminds me of Killing
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Joke. And like Killing Joke, their music is very accessible,
whilst maintaining a high level of intensity.
I'm kind of at odds on how much to praise Fuseless. It's
certainly better than average, solid would be a derogatory
statement to make. It's an album I enjoy immensely, yet at the
same time, I'm not prepared to say it's the best thing since
sliced bread, etc... It's an album I'm sure I'll still play on
a regular basis, mainly because it's different and is perfect
if you're not sure what style of music to put on.
I think Jenx have created a nice little niche for themselves
that bridges old and new. Fuseless pays homage to past
masters, but has a good contemporary feel to it, and that's
the winner for me. Highly recommended.
www.jenxnoise.com |
www.myspace.com/jenxnoise |
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