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36 Crazyfists - The Tide
And Its Takers (Ferret) Review by Steve Green |
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36 Crazyfists are another of those bands whose name I've seen
plastered everywhere, but I know absolutely bugger all about
them. My knowledge of Alaska is limited to Dutch Harbour and
the TV series, The Deadliest Catch, which is arguably my
favourite TV show of the past few years. Anyway, here we have
a commercial post-hardcore/Metalcore (delete as appropriate)
band who have not quite won me over, but have at least, left
me impressed with some of their material.
Opener, The All Night Lights, is in places, as aggressive as
hell, but this is tempered by Brock Lindow's clean voice,
which is utterly captivating. The band switch from all out |
aggression, to smooth and commercial with ease and it's very
hard not to be bowled over by this opening gambit. We Gave It
Hell, is the complete reverse for me. I love the heavy groove
and tortured vocals and the softer side of the song doesn't
really hit home like its predecessor. By the third track, The
Back Harlow Road, 36 Crazyfist's blueprint, is pretty obvious.
A constant switching between heavy and quiet, with the vocals
following the same pattern as the music. And while some of it
is great to listen to, a lot of it is very predictable, very
early on. It's like mixing the all out balls of Pantera with
the softer side of say Pearl Jam or Nirvana, or any other
Seattle/Grunge band (although that probably isn't the best
comparison I could think of), all of which is wrapped up in
occasional bursts of hardcore.
Overall, it's not a bad listen, with the likeable The All
Night Lights being the standout track. The only real let down
is the predictable structure of every song. Absent Are The
Saints could have been a great, balls to the wall rocker, but
the weak clean chorus kills it, as it does on many songs of
this ilk, not just by 36 Crazyfists. One more for the Kerrang
generation.
www.myspace.com/36crazyfists
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Agorhy - Ruptura (Humanos Mortos Production) Review by Steve Green
Horrificia/Raped Bitch - Split cd (Humanos Mortos
Production) Review by Steve Green |
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Here we have a couple of releases from Brazilian underground label Humanos
Mortos Productions. First up is the debut album from
Agorhy, who are a
brutal Death/Grind band from Rio De Janeiro. Their Brazilian roots are
obvious from the off, as the bouncy tribal beats that herald in, Ibope do
Medo, instantly make an impression, as they remind you of another, very
famous, Brazilian band. After that though, the similarities end as Agorhy
start to blast away as if their lives depended on it. This cd has 19
tracks in total, with a running time of around 63 minutes. The first 8
tracks are the Ruptura album, the remaining 11 tracks are culled from the
bands 2 demos. Hybris from 2000 and 2002's Evergrind. As you'd expect, the
production on the demos is pretty raw, but at least it shows the
progression that Agorhy have made in the past 6 years.
Next up is a split cd, featuring Horrificia, who again hail from Rio de
Janeiro and Raped Bitch, a one man band from the Ecuador capital,
Quito. From the well produced Grind of Agorhy, we are thrown headlong in
the underground, with the all-out blasting of Horrificia. This is so loud
and brutal that I had to turn my headphones right down as this made my
ears feel as if they were going to explode. Subtle this most certainly
ain't and I'm sure a cleaner |
production would tame this beast just a little. But this is
far from clean and it's a short, sharp lesson in brutality.
I don't speak Spanish at all, but I instantly understood the title, Abuso
del Recto. I think our good friend in Raped Bitch wants to abuso del
eardrums too, as this is a frightful noise that isn't really fit for
release. It's just a noisy mess, with a few sex based samples thrown in
for good measure. While the production for Horrificia wasn't brilliant, it
was still good enough for you to appreciate their music, RB on the bother
hand, is just pure
plain awful. All 16 songs of this split cd are blasted out in 24 minutes,
but I suggest you only listen to the first 7.
www.myspace.com/humanosmortosprod |
http://humanosmortos.com/
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Animal Alpha - You Pay For The Whole Seat, but You'll Only
Need The Edge (Racing Junior) Review by Steve Green |
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Animal Alpha have seemingly come from nowhere, but they've achieved Gold
status in their native Norway, been featured on a couple of PS2 games,
(Burnout Revenge and NHL 06) played the likes of Wacken and Mera Luna, and
they've also managed to get on the bill for this years Download festival.
And the live setting is where I'm sure they excel. On the recorded
material, Agnete Kjølsrud is a firebrand of a front woman, who seems to
pop up all over the place, and her voice dominates the slightly eclectic
music. I've no idea how to categorise Animal Alpha, I hear everything from
Soundgarden, through System Of A Down to a slightly Glam-cum-Punk kind of
flavour and just about everything in-between, the |
quieter moments even remind me of Bjork!!!. But whatever they are, it's all strangely
addictive. It's full of attitude, mainly because of Agnete's vocals, but
there's a poppy, almost happy vibe going on too. And I bet it all sounds
even better live. As with the added adrenaline of a packed sweaty gig, I
imagine Animal Alpha to be a formidable live act, mainly as their music
possesses so much energy.
Animal Alpha are certainly different. They are part crazy, part genius and
I guess, part addictive. I don't know why I like this album so much, maybe
it is because they are doing something vaguely unique. Which is always
good in today's image (and money) obsessed industry. I hope they win over
a huge army of new fans when they hit the UK this summer.
www.animalalpha.com |
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Coffin Birth - The
Miracle of Death (Bleak Art Records) Review by
Chris Davison |
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Horror “n” metal. Goes together like fish “n” chips, Chas “n”
Dave, prison “n” brutal sodomy. Thing is, I'm a bit of a
horror fan. I'm not one, however, for the never ending list of
video-nasty zombie flicks and cannibal documentaries, I'm much
more into the camp, tongue in cheek Roger Corman and Vincent
Price films. Yes, for me, Hammer Horror and huge tits being
barely restrained by flimsy, white lacy negligees. Give me
Ingrid Pitt lezzing-one-off or Christopher Lee glowering in a
cheap looking gothic tower over some no-mark pretending to put
an electric drill through the skull of a zombie any day.
So, although horror films are endlessly (and have been since
the inception of metal) name |
checked by metal bands, extreme metal has plundered pretty
heavily the gorier, less inventive side of the market rather
than looking to E.C Comics, tales of mystery or any of the
afore mentioned films. Only King Diamond and Mercyful Fate
have ever really done the “camp horror” shtick any good. That
is until now. Ploughing a similar, if more traditionally heavy
metal furrow as fellow underground stalwarts Witchery, Coffin
Birth have produced a fine, fine album for those of us who
don't mind the melding of fine guitar work that could have
easily come from classic platters such as “Abigail” or “King
of the Dead” as they could from thrash or death metal. Being a
four piece, who seem to spend half of their bio telling us who
they nearly had singing their material, they have a full,
satisfying sound that goes for a melding of thrash, melodic
death metal and pure, pure heavy metal. If this album doesn't
become a minor cult classic, I may well be forced to eat this
very disc without the aid of condiments. All the ingredients
are there; great riffs, soaring guitar solos (as in the
particularly ace “Secrets in the Rotten Tree”), throbbing bass
and simply played but effectively battered drum work. The
vocals remind me ever so much of Wilson from Gorerotted (now
known, bafflingly, as “The Rotted”), being as they are high
pitched and completely venomous, but also being clear and
decipherable.
At nine tracks, it's an exciting listen throughout, with my
only complaints being that a) it's all over too fast, and b)
the production tends to sound a little hollow and weak,
robbing the instruments a little of the power and placing the
vocals far too high in the mix. These minor points aside, each
of these songs is a minor gem, and there isn't a hint of
filler to be found throughout. It's tricky to pick a standout
track, though for my money the grimace-inducing mid-paced,
guitar-solo laden stomp of “Spiders of Insomnia” puts most
things put out by bigger bands in the most recent months to
shame. I bet this material is killer live, too. Chuck “The Pit
and the Pendulum” on the DVD, turn the sound down and blast
this album like you've got no neighbours. Good times await.
www.bleakartrecords.com |
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Demise - Torture Garden
(Metal Mind) Review by Chris Davison |
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...and so, Metal Mind continue in their quest to introduce
quality Polish metal to an unsuspecting western world. Not
content with re-releasing long since abandoned classic thrash
albums, Metal Mind are quietly letting go of the slip collar
on several bands that never saw their records received by a
more widespread audience.
Demise are such a Polish band, forged in a country that is
synonymous with quality death metal these days as the
Scandinavians were at the beginning of the nineties. That
being said, this isn't in the same vein as the more famous
Polish marauders, this is much more of a melodic album, though
that being said, it is still much more of a brutal affair than
many of its |
peers. This album was originally released way back in 2005,
though it appears that it wasn't released in the west, or if
it was it didn't find a very wide audience. This is puzzling,
as they had secured the services of none other than
guitar-for-hire James Murphy to master the record, and also to
record one of his trademark blazing solos all over album
highlight “unjust”. Their website hasn't apparently seen any
change since 2005, (www.demise.art.pl),
so one wonders what has happened to them, as this is really a
very good record, too good in fact to have lost the band to
the winds of obscurity.
It's all jolly tight stuff, with a drummer that seems to have
been schooled in the Polish death metal school (which
apparently produces skin-bashers of mechanical precision and
Terminator-like ruthlessness), but it's really the guitarists
that deserve the accolades here. They manage to do the almost
impossible; to produce a death metal album with an
accomplished sense of melody without ever sounding anything
less than a polished (sic) killing machine. I know that in the
early 2000's, it seemed like anyone with access to an
amplified guitar, a keyboard and a recording studio was
churning out melodi-death, but this is different to the run of
the mill genre stuff. The guitars are frequently played at a
speed more akin to black metal, backed up by the hoarse but
pleasingly clear vocals. While the production is, of course,
perfectly clear and punchy, I had some trouble in picking out
the bass, which I suspect is a mixing problem. This all seems
like a set of minor quibbles when you listen to what could be
a minor lost classic – which you now all have the option to
own. It's heavy. It's melodic. It's catchy. It's Polish – and
now it's over here. Snaffle it up.
www.metalmind.com.pl/index.php?jezyk=en |
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Diachronia - Absolute
Time (Self release) review by Sam Thomas |
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Diachronia have been around since 1997, originating in Poland
centred around Northbert vel “Konik”. The usual
personnel/musical direction changes followed, with the band’s
founder eventually moving to London. “Absolute Time” is the
band’s latest release, with a further album expected towards
the end of the year.
This CD arrived at my player by probably the most circuitous
route ever. My ex-husband happened to meet up with a guy from
Poland, they got talking about music and the CD was produced.
It was then sent to me, and well…
I’ve complained many times recently about bands who flit from
one style to another and |
produce an unplayable mess, mastering none of the styles.
Diachronia are the exception that proves the rule. This album
is probably best described as symphonic black, but with a more
death metal style vocal. And whilst there are sweeping
keyboards, there are also battering drums, a “Sisters of
Mercy” style spoken intro to track three “Elements”, Middle
Eastern type influences, a Finntroll style portion with
mournful Viking horns and, well just about anything you’ve
ever heard of within a metal context. It sounds as though it
should be an appalling mess, but it works. Very well. This
album just rattles along, cheerfully sweeping all in its path,
defying you to criticise it because, by the time you could
formulate a criticism, it’s evolved into something different,
and you’re listening intently again. I think that the secret
to this album’s listenability is its perfect pace (not
surprising perhaps in an album called “Absolute Time”), which
never allows you to become bored or jaded. There are nice
touches where certain tracks sound reminiscent of parts of
other tracks, which also helps the album hang together well.
The only possible criticism would be of the production
quality, which is not perfect, but, being completely honest,
I’d prefer a talented band with imperfect production over the
most perfectly produced work of an ultimately talentless band
any day. Diachronia are definitely a band worth looking out
for, as this is one of the best self-releases I’ve come
across. It is a thing of (admittedly dark) beauty, and should
be cherished accordingly.
www.myspace.com/diachronia |
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Demiurg - The Hate
Chamber (Mascot Records) review by Sam Thomas |
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The Hate Chamber is the second album from Demiurg, a Swedish
band that formed around Rogga Johansson, with a bit of help
from Dan Swanö and Johan Berglund. This time around, they’ve
called in Ed Warby of Gorefest for the drums and Pär Johansson
of Satariel for the clean vocals. The former move releases Dan
Swanö to concentrate on keyboards, guitar and production. As
you might guess, the production on this is absolutely
first-rate.
Demiurg have continued where they left off last time and
produced something very special. They’ve started from the
perspective of old school death metal, but it’s been given a
new, |
exciting lease of life with a rich groove, largely, no doubt
at the instigation of Mr Swanö. It’s kind of hard to explain
how something can be at the same time both brutal and
old-school and yet also vibrant and groovy, but trust me, this
is.
I’m still trying to find any similarities to Sepultura or
Satyricon as promised on the press release (I even enlisted
Steve on this one, as he’s rather more familiar with their
output than I am, but no luck). Demiurg remain, for me, a
fantastic combination of brutality (think Bloodbath) and their
own unique catchiness. It’s not very often that a purely
brutal death band has you singing along, when all’s said and
done. Ed Warby proves to be a great addition on drums, fitting
in perfectly with the previous style, and yet improving it
without overwhelming what was already a pretty good style. For
me, the absolute gem of the album has to be the final track,
“Cult of Dagon”, which showcases Pär Johansson’s clean vocals
to such great effect that it had me digging out my old
Satariel and having a good listen. As ever, his voice is so
clear and his delivery so unmistakable that it sent shivers
down my spine.
Quite simply, this is a superbly produced album, made by some
incredibly talented musicians, who in a proper metal world
would all be household names and/or revered as gods. It’s one
of the best releases of the year so far, without doubt, and I
suspect that I will still be thinking the same come December.
www.mascotrecords.com |
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Dream Steel - You
(My Kingdom Music) Review by AJ Carlile |
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Dream Steel are an Italian metal quintet, consisting of Alex
Antonelli (Vocals), Daniele "Power" Mazzanti (Guitar), Diego
Testa (Bass), Matteo "Kiss" Velucci (Drums) and Marco
Zichitella (Keyboard). The group sight the likes of Symphony
X, Dream Theater and Angra as influences, and perhaps the best
way to describe the band is as an amalgam of these.
Their new album, "You", begins with an odd intro track which
sounds reminiscent of a nightmarish playground, before
drifting into track two, ‘The Flight of a Butterfly’, which
opens with a fine riff. However, as the track progresses, it
loses it’s momentum, and becomes a rather bland (albeit still
quite listenable) affair. And the album continues much in |
this vain. There are a few good riffs dotted about, which
suggest the band are certainly capable of something decent,
but the way it’s strung together makes it seem very formulaic.
The main problem I have is the fact that Antonelli’s vocals
take centre stage. They overshadow the rest of the band
completely, and in all honesty, his voice just isn’t powerful
enough to lead a track. And the lyrics don’t help matters, as
they’re rather poorly written in places, leaving Antonelli
with too much to sing in too short a time. Though this is
easily forgiven, considering that English isn’t the bands
first language.
Still, for all my complaining, there are certainly some decent
riffs, guitar solos and keyboard segments mixed in there. And
in truth, I did quite like the aforementioned, ‘Flight of a
Butterfly’ after a couple of listens. Were it not for the fact
that Dream Steel are entering into a genre where greatness has
already been established, this would be perfectly acceptable
music. But they’ll need to do a little more to truly impress.
www.mykingdommusic.net |
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