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Soilent Green - Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of
Conviction (Metal Blade Records)
Review by Luke Goaman-Dodson |
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The legendary metal scene of New Orleans has produced some
astonishing work over the years, all of it possessing a very
distinctive sound that can switch from bewilderingly chaotic
fury to self-medicated angst and despair, but always oozing
with the murky atmosphere of the Bayou. Soilent Green are one
of the most acclaimed bands to emerge from this scene, and in
the decade since Rolling Stone magazine declared them among
the ten greatest “hard and heavy” bands around, the band have
endured arguably more hardship than triumph, suffering
numerous accidents and two tragic deaths. Despite this, the
Green have soldiered on, and once again teamed up with Hate
Eternal’s Erik Rutan to produce their latest full- |
length. The style here is the familiar brand of
technical-death/grindcore
laced with bluesy Louisiana sludge-metal riffing, occasional
acoustic interludes, and jazz-inflected arrangements. As with
2005’s ‘Confrontation’, the emphasis here is slightly heavier
on the chaotic-fury than the angst-and-despair, which leaves
my doomy self highly impressed with their technical abilities
but wishing they’d slow down and mellow out a bit more often –
the acoustic segments, for instance, would sound fantastic if
they were given more prominence and integrated into the rest
of the music. It’d be almost like a southern-rock version of
Opeth.
‘Antioxidant’, easily my favourite track on this album, starts
with a wave of Eyehategod-style feedback before the searing
sludgy hardcore kicks in, periodically giving way to the
familiar blastbeats. Out of all the tracks on this release,
this one showcases Soilent Green paint-stripping brand of
extreme metal the best. ‘Superstition Aimed at One’s Skull’
begins with a Sabbathy wah-wah bass intro that once again I
kind of wish they’d made more of – but I’m just nitpicking
really. ‘All This Good Intention Wasted in the Wake of
Apathy’, written during the early 90s, is another excellent
number that, unlike so much unspeakably boring tech-death
wankery, puts song-writing in front of musicianship, and
doesn’t sacrifice an iota of aggression.
This is a very worthy addition to Soilent Green’s catalogue,
and I would say a definite improvement on ‘Confrontation’. To
be fair, even Soilent Green at their worst is still first-rate
by most other band’s standards. If you haven’t been converted
to SG’s style yet, then ‘Inevitable Collapse’ probably won’t
do much to change that; if you’ve already been won over, then
dive in. www.soilentgreen.net |
www.metalblade.de |
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Spiritual Beggars -
Spiritual Beggars (Regain Records) By: Joe
Florez |
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Well, it seems like since Mike Amott has been hot lately with
his main band Arch Enemy, it was time once again to re-issue
the debut disc from Regain Records. It was issued in the
beginning from Wrong Again Records and then when it switched
to Regain it was pressed then too. This was Mike’s first foray
into forming a band after leaving Carcass. SB is stoner/hard
rock for those that don’t know and has absolutely nothing to
do with melodic death metal. This three piece dream team
featured the almighty Spice on vox and Ludwig Witt on the
skins.
“Yearly Dying” is a jamming opening cut that will rumble and
shatter your speakers. Mike |
has a killer and groovy riff that is non stop action and
includes a wicked psychedelic solo. Spice’s voice can’t be
contained as it’s gritty, yet vibrant and packed with power.
This will definitely wake you up. The important thing to
understand about SB is that just 'cause they fall under the
category of stoner/rock doesn’t mean that the songs get
dragged through the mud. Everyone in the band does their best
to keep things lively and energetic and it shows all the time.
There is very little time for boredom. Well, since you can’t
keep the energy going throughout the disc, the guys slow it
down a touch with a blues tinged influence on “Magnificent
Obsession” and it clocks in at the ten minute mark. It has
been a long while since I listened to this and after popping
this back in I forgot just how good and hot rockin’ this was. All the elements are there to make this
one a must own. It’s good to see that there is more to Mike
than just metal. This was initially issued as a six track E.P.,
but there are four bonus tracks added to make it extra special
to the fan. Good stuff indeed.
www.regainrecords.com |
www.myspace.com/spiritualbeggars
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The Hounds of Hasselvander -
S/T (Rock Saviour)
Review by Metal Mark |
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Joe Hasselvander is most known for having played with
Pentagram and having been the drummer with Raven for the last
two decades. However he has been involved with numerous other
projects including playing on over half of Blue Cheer's last
album. He has indeed been a very busy man over the last thirty
years and this is his most recent project. This certainly
leans more towards Pentagram in terms of tone although the
bulk of the songs are generally heavier and slightly faster.
It's a bit like early doom combined with late 1980's metal and
there is probably more than a hint of Joe's idols Blue Cheer
stirred into the mix as well. Since Hasselvander played guitar
for Pentagram on some albums the songs here have |
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that same thick as molasses feel, although perhaps with even
more aggressive. So the overall sound is perhaps right in
between doom and classic metal and has enough of each style to
appeal to fans of both. The approach is basic without a great
deal of variation, but the thickness of the music and the
killer drumming more than make up for it. This is all Joe's
baby because he wrote all the songs, played all the
instruments, did all the vocals and co-produced the album.
Needless to say this is must have for fans of Pentagram for
sure, fans of doom and more classic style metal will probably
find enough about to enjoy as well. Hasselvander has added members for a live
line-up and they have played a few shows in recent months.
www.myspace.com/thehoundsofhasselvander |
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Torture Squad - Hellbound
(Wacken Records) Review by Marco Gaminara |
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This Brazilian quartet from Sao Paulo are a very technical
thrash/death hybrid that reminds me more of Sadus in intensity
and musicianship than anyone else at first listen, but I'm
sure after more listens there shall be other comparisons too,
but needless to say I'm suitably impressed. I like the melodic
intro of "MMXII" which takes you unawares into blast that is
"Living For The Kill". While "The Beast Within" slows things
down an iota, it's only to allow the vocals to draw out the
growls for longer and the guitar riffs to be more sweeping
with far frettier lead solos. Vitor Rodrigues' vocals are
suitably aggressive for the style of music, and while not
always the inaudible low growls that he does occasionally,
they are mostly |
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fast but low growls in a similar vain to early Pestilence and Sepultura, but the latter may be more the
accents and English intonations than anything else. The blast
battery on "The Fall Of Man" delivered by Amilcar Christofaro
needs to be heard to be truly appreciated. The hyper tempo
changes from blast to acoustic and back in "Chaos Corporation"
showcase just how tight a unit these guys are, and keep you
alert for the next manic shift. I love the way that "Man
Behind The Mask" plays out, beginning with a priest confessing
to a superior and the different vocal styles used for
different characters help the story progress to its bloody
conclusion. Rafael Augusto Lope uses his guitar as a surgeon
would a scalpel for the more subtle work, while Castor's bass
pounds things home in the way a butcher would with a cleaver, as
is clearly heard in "In The Cyberwar". An Exodus comparison is
a must for the intro to "Twilight Of The Mankind", which is
acoustic, and then flows onto a distorted electric and then
into an all out thrash attack on the senses, with a very
poignant message to boot. The immensely beautiful acoustic
instrumental "The Four Winds" is all but too short and melds
well into the sitar used on "Hellbound", where the choppy
rhythms march along 'til the epic conclusion of the album.
www.TortureSquad.com.br/
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www.WackenRecords.com |
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Wrath Attack - Bringing Out The Thrash (Self
Release) Review by Steve Green |
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This is a raw as hell 2 track demo, which luckily, for you readers out
there, is available free to download, from the bands website. Now before
you all go off and crash the bands servers, I have to tell you, that for a
band that are " Bringing Out The Thrash", this isn't half as potent as it
should be. I'm sure some of it is down to the awful production, but Anthem
of Anger does not live up to its name, and the title track is verging on a
trading standards report. If you claim to be all about thrash, then you
should be slaying everything in front of you. I do like the title track,
as it has an absolutely brilliant, not to mention catchy, chorus, but it
needs beefier production and another couple of notches of intensity to
really do the
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job properly.
Definitely worth checking out as there's a good bit of retro action going
on here, but I will be expecting something a little better the next time around.
www.wrath-attack.net |
www.myspace.com/wrathattack |
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Yak - Iron Flavoured Candies (Oto Records) Review by Steve Green |
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I have one writer that lists experimental/weird amongst his list of
preferred listening, and when he turned this down, I knew I was in the
shit. I just don't get some of this weird stuff, and while I can marvel at
the musicianship, I'm left completely nonplussed as to who actually likes
this kind of "music". While the first number, "when you'll realize that
the sun will rise up being a black hole" is completely all over the shop,
from jazzy, funky bass, stop-start dynamics, Frank Zappa meets Primus
crazy shit, and what sounds like a 1970s telephone ring, track two, Y.A.K.
is laidback rap, in the style of a mellow Public Enemy, with a few
metallic overtones!!! "insects eat your car" is somewhat normal compared
to the |
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first couple of numbers, with a base of solid hardcore, the
weird bits are less dense, although I still don't get it. And
that's the norm for this album, expect the unexpected. Iron
Flavoured Candies is off in its own little word, and it's one
that would confuse any number of psychiatrists. Absolutely,
barking fucking mad.
www.myspace.com/yaktv |
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Zahrim - Liber
Compendium Diabolicum
(Black Devastation Rec)
Review by Crin |
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Masterfully bleak Danish Black Metal ‘Best of'' cd. Melodic,
raw and cold as ice.
CD compilation of the "Ia Zagasthenu" MLP 2006 and both demo
tapes. 1996/ 2003 respectively. First up is the impressive, Ia
Zagasthenu’ Mcd, a densely produced sound of melodic guitar
riffs and solid lush atmospheres. Think of Gorefest or
Hypocrisy and that’s where this sledgehammer embodiment of
power is at. The slow harmonies melt into faster sections and
back again with graceful ease. The fast Black Metal fluidity
this band create is the strength of the music’s addictive
nature. I am, at times, aghast at how these unknown bands
offer so much creative flair compared to the more known
lacklustre acts littering the |
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scene. The mcd’s 4 tracks is
woefully short, but the following demo, Ultu Muxxischa, is
amazingly just as potent and addictive. Fast, scorching Black
Metal with that feel good factor oozing from the melodic
arrangements. The cd ends with the Mashshagrannu demo. Again 4
tracks of flowing melodic Black Metal that never strays from
the murky underground from whence it was born. This is a
typically obscure release and like all such offerings limited
to a 1000 or so copies. The quality here is impressive and
serves as notice that many a great band exists in the unknown
as there are many a shite band existing in the glare of the
mainstream. This cd can also be obtained from the new distro
at
www.godreah.com |
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