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Ministry And Co-Conspirators - Cover Up
(13th Planet) Review by Metal Mark |
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Al Jourgensen and his associates have spent recent years
cranking out tracks ripping apart our current president. So by
comparison, this album of 60’s and 70’s cover songs seems far
lighter in spirit. It may take a little time to adjust to the
difference in the feel of the album, but once you have made
that adjustment then you will be in for a good time. My take
on cover songs has always been that if you must do them then
be somewhat respectful to the song, but add your own sound as
well or it isn’t worth doing. Much like Dr. Frankenstein in
his lab, the eleven covers here have been taken, twisted and
put back together with |
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monstrous results as Al and his cohorts have given each track
some major treatment to to make them their own. Does every
song work? Of course not, but the important thing is they kept
the right approach for the majority of the songs. It's no
coincidence that this was released on April Fool's Day because
this album was obviously done with in a tongue in cheek
manner. I think they had fun doing these songs and that is so
key to making good covers as well. If you don't enjoy the
songs then don't even attempt them, that sounds simple yet so
many bands don't follow it. The Ministry have some charged up
versions of "Radar Love", "Mississippi Queen" and "Space Truckin'" that all sucked me in
immediately. "Roadhouse" and "Supernaut" are very cool too,
but I had heard those when they were first released on other
albums. "Under My Thumb" seemed a bit too silly to me, I mean
it was funny the first time just because of how much it was
blown out of proportion, but it will likely not be as amusing
on repeated plays. Most of the other tracks here are decent or
fairly good. So overall this is a likable, better than average
covers album. |
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Red Pill - Sinners Club
(Self Release)
Review By Strawb |
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If you accept and swallow the Red Pill, you may wake up in an
embryonic bath, connected by explosive charged cords to the
Matrix, and very soon after suffer a flushing sensation
leading to the sort of water ride we all seek but never
experience, not even at Six Flags the last time I was there.
Or, you can experience the seven-track self-released first CD
from a four piece band from Modena, Italy, who merged together
to fill a gap in their local metal scene. The gap must have
been a sort of soft thrash, for that is what this album is.
Currently trying to get enough votes to play at Wacken; try
them and throw a vote their way.
The music itself contains some tracks where the title itself
draws you in, but the ensuing track fails to live up to the
potential – Mouthwatering Death being the most noticeable
example. A few of the old clichés are paraded here, openings
of spoken words on Forget Not Forgive, fast pace giving way to
a slow chorus on Ad Hominem, and an unintelligible talkover on
Useless Existence. The stronger tracks are Head Smasher [from
its opening, which resembles a steam train pulling off, with
more talk over vocals, to its noticeably good drumming, to
some throaty vocals and even a couple of screaming lines or
two] and the title track, which demands to be played loud, and
is a song in which the softer vocal style is perfectly
complemented by the throatier stuff in a blend to rival that
of a good, cheap scotch, which would be the drink of choice to
accompany this in a club, both of them giving you a warm,
contented feeling.
As a self-released debut it shows what the band are capable
of, and in this reviewers opinion what it needed to be was
hard thrash with the more throaty vocals. If they were to
produce that, then I would gladly listen to their next
platter, but another smorgasbord like this would be one too
many.
Binary well presented at
www.redpill1.com
and www.myspace.com/redpill1 |
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Solid Ground - Can't Stop Now (Let It
Burn) Review by Steve Green |
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I like to work out to music, but if I attempted any kind of
physical activity to this, I'd be dead before the first song
ended, probably with a heart attack. Despite a slower passage
towards the end of Not This Time, this is pretty unforgiving
stuff. This is pit inducing Hardcore that takes no prisoners.
It features all of the usual suspects: Gang shouts, vitriol
and integrity, dealing with real life subjects, but Solid
Ground just hit the nail on the head so beautifully. This is
so full of life, that even the uninitiated, like myself, will
be able to appreciate this, from the Thrashing mayhem of
Alive, to the furious onslaught of Focused Mind, it's a
veritable feast of aural violence, all played with such a
passion, that you know
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this is coming straight from the heart. You can just feel the
anger that threatens to boil over at every twist and turn.
Solid Ground are one seriously pissed off band.
Hardcore is quite a simple choice for me. As I'm not an
aficionado of the genre, it's either a love or hate situation
for me, and I love this.
www.letitburnrecords.com |
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Storm Warrior - Heading Northe
(Dockyard 1) Reviewed Nathan Ward |
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Viking power metal is becoming more popular after the
successes of Turisas and the like. Storm Warrior release their
4th album, Heading Northe, which continues the blending of
Norse mythology and power metal. The album itself is 11 songs
long and starts and ends with instrumentals. The songs
in-between are all fast paced with the exception of ‘The
Revenge of Asa Lande’ which is a slower ballad style song.
Each of the songs blend together one after the other making
the album feel like one song with many parts. All the
instruments come through clearly, which makes the album sound
full and complete. The sound of the album is similar to that
of Hammerfall. Heading Northe |
still has the consistency of
Storm Warrior’s previous offerings and shows that they are
still moving forward and honing their abilities. Each song
keeps you listening, using great riffs, drum beats lyrics and
solos.
If you’ve not heard of Storm Warrior before, but like most
power metal; Helloween, Edguy and Hammerfall etcetera, Heading
Northe would be a good place to start. My favourite songs from the
album are: ‘Iron Gods’, ‘Metal Legacy’ and ‘Heading Northe’.
From start to finish Heading Northe is a great album and is
really worth listening to.
www.myspace.com/stormwarriorofficial |
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Textures - Silhouettes
(Listenable Records) Review by Chris Davison |
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My name is Chris Davison, and I am a metaloholic. Worse than
that, I am an active metal forum poster, which aside from
supplying me with ample opportunities to be called “gay”, told
that I “fail” on an “epic” basis and “suck” (not all of which
is true) does from time to time actually supply me with
interesting debate and discussion on my beloved metal. One of
the threads which peaked my interest recently was “Which band
has blown your mind recently?”. Of course there were many
ridiculous answers like “TeH New bR00tal Deth album d00d!”. It
got me to thinking, when was the last album that I heard that
really, and I mean really made me pause, take a second to
consider and then say “that was amazing”? |
The answer was “this one”. I had heard of Textures, but never
really listened to them. Having seen them featured in the
annals of Terrorizer, a worthy organ to be sure but currently
stocked with more hipsters than a Levi factory, I was worried
that as they have seem to have been universally lauded, then
they would pretty much (to coin another forum favourite) “fail
at life”. Textures are a Dutch band that have thus far produced
three albums, of which this is the third. There is no doubt
that this is progressive music. Now, as a listener who usually
associates the term “progressive” with a) extensive beards, b)
double vinyl albums with themes such as fairies riding to war
on the back of massive articulated coffee tables and c) burned
out old hippies who should be denied access to modern
recording technology, I was pleasantly surprised by just how
engaging and more importantly entertaining that something as
considered and cerebral could be.
The first thing in their favour is that they are by degrees
unrelentingly brutal and heavy. These are good things to a
Neanderthal moron like me. The sheer range of their vocalist is
absolutely jaw dropping. On the huge, panoramic aural vista
that is “Awake”, his voice spans the huge chasm between
savage, semi-death metal delivery and crooning, reminiscent of
Mike Patton on the “King For A Day” album. Careful, tasteful
electronics fight for soundspace with the guitars, themselves
alternating between massive slabs of downtuned riffage and
discordant, Voivodian passages. There are more time changes
here than in a decade working at the Greenwich meantime
laboratories, and more abrupt changes of mood than working
with troubled teenagers. All of which, of course means that
this is a band of accomplished musicians and composers,
as this could easily have ended up being a jarring, incoherent
mess, but instead some kind of sacred order is constructed
from the chaos, as with the measured brilliance of album gem
“State of Disobedience”.
The production is clear, rich and powerful, while all of the
band members do themselves proud with the proficiency of their
playing. If there is one criticism, (if indeed it could be
called criticism), it is that this is not an album that can be
played in the background to other activity. It demands your
attention – as without your active participation as a
listener, you aren't going to capture even half the majesty of
the music contained therein.
Hard working listeners only need apply therefore. Textures
have blown my mind. I have said so in the thread. However, in
other news, I still fail at life. In these simples truths, I
find solace.
www.listenable.net
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The Days The Nights -
The Days The Nights (The Boris Group)
By: Ryan Ogle |
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This Portland, OR-based group plays the sort of sultry rock n’
roll that you’d expect to hear in some dingy beer joint during
a night you’ll never forget, but can’t seem to remember
through all the haze. This five-song, self-titled EP from
these upstarts shows a band who knows the direction they want
to go, but just doesn’t know quite how to get there. This
isn’t a band thing, as any new band needs to play around with
their sound before they actually have one they can call their
own.
Opening track, “Greenlight” delivers a kind of swaggering,
Velvet Revolver type vibe that stands out as the disc’s most
straight-up rock n’ roll track. The hook-laden chorus, |
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complete with a larger-than-life riff-o-rama and the
obligatory vocal stutter (C-c-c-c-could you believe we were
the last to leave) make this one a Friday night anthem for
whiskey shooters everywhere. A few songs later, the boys
revisit the book of Slash n’ Weiland on the subdued “Let’s
Start A Riot.” One would expect a song with this title would
be little bit more bombastic, but instead we get a slightly
mellow and bluesy verse and another ear-grabbing vocal hook in
the chorus. Showing that The Days The Nights still hasn’t
quite decided where they’re coming from, “You Should Ask
Yourself” and “Her Name Is Alice” come across like Queens Of
The Stone Age caught in a jam session with members of an
Aerosmith cover band. From the gritty, overfuzzed tone, to the
melodious Josh Homme impression, they have the QOTSA sound
down pat, but the delivery is more like you would hear from a
beer-fueled rock n’ roll band as opposed to the
desert-dwelling herbalists. The EP’s heaviest track, “One Last
Kiss,” brings things to a close by somehow merging all the
styles heard on the preceding four tunes into a sound that
works really well for the outfit. The inclusion of aggressive,
screaming vocals added some much needed intensity as well. It
almost seems as if this were written and recorded well after
the fact and added on as an afterthought. Were that the case,
The Days The Nights would be best served to head in the
direction heard on said tune. The band sounds much more
comfortable and confident when slamming out their own noise,
instead of that of their influences. I’ve heard talk of an
upcoming full-length, if this last tune is any indicator of
things to come, we’ll be hearing more of this name soon.
www.myspace.com/thedaysthenights
| www.theborisgroup.com |
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The Secret - Disintoxication
(Goodfellow Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
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Italy’s The Secret release their second full-length, entitled
“Disintoxication”, on Goodfellow Records. Not being familiar
with the band’s prior output, The Secret come across as a
collision between metalcore, mathcore, and a touch of the
burgeoning genre of deathcore thrown in for good measure.
Consisting of rapid fire riffing, chaotic, all over the map
drum patterns, and out and out screaming that goes on
virtually nonstop over 10 tracks for 35 minutes, obvious
comparisons to bands such as Meshuggah, Converge, Breach, The
Dillinger Escape Plan, you name it, come to mind.
Most of this genre is somewhat off the beaten path for me and
I’m probably not the most |
qualified staff member at Live 4 Metal to write this review,
but, certainly, I’ve liked what I have heard on “Disintoxication”. Bands in this genre must be
technically proficient in order to get noticed, and The Secret
certainly have that aspect of their musical delivery nailed.
Precise riffing, time changes galore, nice variations in tempo
from track to track as well as within an individual song, and
an over the top, crystal clear production label The Secret as
a mature, technical act that will inevitably garner some
notice on this side of the Atlantic. In addition, a lot of
bands in this genre can be a bit monotonous, and The Secret
nicely avoid that pitfall with some excellent, interesting
songwriting. Not all of the songs are over the top displays of
technicality as one or two slower tracks with some darker
tones and menace make some appearances.
Apparently, European audiences are already familiar with The
Secret as a hard working band, and “Disintoxication” should
soon be on any North American self respecting metalcore fan’s
radar. Recommended.
www.goodfellowrecords.com/
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