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Blooddawn - Metallic
Warfare (Mad Lion) Review by Chris Davison |
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I always liked that DIY advert. You know the one. The tagline
was “it does exactly what it says on the tin”. Well, in the
case of this nasty little blighter, that's exactly what we
have here – Metallic Warfare. For our regular readers who only
scan the text, here is the abbreviated version of this review,
“German, abrasive thrash, raw production, great songs, more
please”.
For the more patient among you, Blooddawn are, aside from
having one too many D's in their name, a German thrash band
with an evident love of the rawer end of the thrash spectrum.
That's ok, because I like my thrash like I like my women:
ugly, fun and filthy. As |
an aside, while it seems pretty common to model your thrash
metal after Sodom or Kreator (as is most definitely the case
here), how come nobody ever makes their noisy platters sound
like Heathen or Death Angel? Anyway, that aside, Blooddawn
have a knack for writing catchy, immediate hymns to violence
and blood shed. The production may indeed sound like the
guitars have been recorded by having them played next to
tissue paper covered margarine tubs and the resultant buzzing
noise recorded, while the drums sound pretty much like...erm...that
St. Anger drum sound, but this all adds to the chaotic
atmosphere of the album. This is clearly a band that likes
metal, alcohol and ....well, let's just leave it at those two
influences. That's not a bad thing, and with thigh-slapping
song titles such as “Pagan Storms Unleashed by Odins Frostdick”
and “Puke”, you might be forgiven for thinking that this is a
comedy outfit. They might enjoy their bloody work, but the
music here is deadly serious, and properly amplified is likely
to snap necks at a hundred paces.
As another aside, I was gratified to see the proper return of
the photo-montage CD inlay, as made famous by Anthrax and SOD
back in the day! Such laudable attention to detail has
endeared them to me greatly. So sure, it isn't the most ground
breaking of albums, but it is utterly feral and unapologetic.
Great stuff, and make mine a beer, guys.
www.madlion.eu |
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Fate - Vultures
(Metal Blade) Review by Andrew Ward |
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Fate are an interesting band, not quite fitting into the
current environment of the new death metal, such bands as Job
For A Cowboy, Despised Icon and Suicide Silence, also not
fitting into the death metal of old, its technical death metal
for sure and leaning to a progressive nature at points. From
the first second of the instrumental intro to the last note
ringing out on ‘Ruins of Necropolis’ I fell in love with this
album. If like me, you like technical death metal such as
‘Beneath the Massacre’ then I’m sure you’ll love this album
too. For me it has the perfect blend between brutality,
aggression and technical musicianship. ‘Psnchopathic Diary’,
the first track proper off this album is by far my |
favourite of this release. ‘Vultures’ is a solid release from
a band with superb talent and obvious passion, however I’m
undecided on the future of this band, for me it depends on
which direction they take. If they take the technical death
route I’m sure they will be forgotten as soon as something
‘new’ comes along, however if they follow their progressive
leanings then they may have a very successful future in front
of them. This album could be the start of something very
special for ‘Fate’ or they could become another flash in the
pan band in a scene which is becoming increasing saturated,
with only a handful of bands that have the song writing
ability to stick it through. Only time will tell and I’m
really looking forward to the next release to see what
direction they take. In short ‘Vultures’ is a fantastic album
which will win over a great number of fans, well worth picking
a copy up!
www.metalblade.de |
www.myspace.com/fate |
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Grave - Dominion VIII
(Regain Records) review by Sam Thomas |
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Dominion VIII is Swedish death metallers Grave’s latest
production. Every time I hear them they seem to have a
different line-up, although as they are now in their twentieth
year, that may not be so unreasonable. This time around it’s a
threesome Ola Lindgren (as usual!) doing the honours on
guitars and vocals, Fredrik Isaksson on bass and new boy
Ronnie Bergerståhl (Centinex) on drums.
Whilst the record label like to describe this as “old-school
death metal” (which it undoubtedly is), that doesn’t really do
Grave justice. They aren’t a bunch of old geezers reliving
past glory days in some kind of Eighties time warp, they are
actually producing |
beautiful, crunchy death metal with enough of an edge to it to
be both relevant and modern. And they aren’t genre-bound
either, which is another concept that I always associate with
the label “old-school”. There are elements of doom here,
mostly in the pace (or lack of it) on tracks such as “Deathstar”,
but also in the quality of inevitability and deliberation that
abounds throughout the album. Each track on this album follows
the previous one in an inescapable sequence that is ponderous,
brutal and apocalyptic. There are odd touches, like the
clanging of a bell at the beginning of “Dark Signs”, that just
aren’t death metal at all, but are perfect in their context.
The inclusion of intelligent (and intelligible) lyrics is
obviously a huge plus, but no surprise (“Beauty Within” from
“Hating Life” is one of the most chillingly perfect
descriptions of absolute horror that I’ve ever heard).
The cover art is pretty cool as well: lurid, gory and no doubt
offensive to some. WYSIWYG, definitely. All told, there’s
nothing to really find fault with here. Grave have produced an
album that is technically flawless, brutal death metal at its
absolute finest. A further offering from the country that gave
us IKEA that is anything but bland.
www.grave.se
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www.regainrecords.com |
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Headhunter - Parasite Of
Society (Candlelight Music) By: Joe Florez |
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History lesson time kids. After bassist/singer Schmier left
the almighty Destruction, he quickly formed Headhunter and
released three records which started from 1990 and finished up
in 1994. This three piece act also included drum basher Jorg
Michael and Schmuddel (ex-Talon). Well, since the albums have
been long out of print for many moons AFM decided to
re-release them and the guys also decided to record a new
record as well and “Parasite Of Society” is the result. Now,
never having the opportunity to listen to their back catalogue
I went to their site and listened to some of their old works.
Needless to say, I wasn’t all that thrilled about it cause it
sounded very dated and just not catchy enough. |
With the new release in my hand, I get the chance to listen
again and a full length record no less.
After the goofy intro, we launch into the title track. This
one is blazingly fast with vicious riffs, ruthless drumming
and Schmier’s vocals have never sounded better despite his
age. These guys simply go off and you can get the new
Destruction vibe here. That’s not a bad thing. This is very
Germanic sounding, but contains some seriously good and catchy
licks. “Silverskull” is another high octane track, but is more
in the power metal vein than thrash like the first cut. I am
not a huge fan of heavier bands doing slower songs cause they
generally fall apart and “Remission” is a case in point.
Schmier’s voice sounds a bit odd as he slows it down
tremendously. The music drags along at a snails pace and it
just doesn’t pan out all that well even though things kick
into mid paced gear later on. One of the songs on here that
really threw me off guard was a cover of Skid Row’s “18 And
Life.” If you ask me, I like this version better. I like the
original, but I could care less if I ever heard it again due
to radio and video overkill. The acoustic guitars added on
here is a nice touch and the gruffer vocals make it cool too.
This one is a sped up version. This number was tweaked just
right.
After hearing POS, my conclusion is this: this isn’t exactly a
full blown thrash record. It’s also not a slick and polished
power metal disc either. I would call this rough power metal
which means that it has a vibe of the early to mid 80’s from
Germany when bands were still trying to find their own
identity and craft their sound. Think of those early Rage
discs and how they aren’t as good as the ones now or as
infectious either. The production is great here, but the riffs
have a raw edge to them. This is alright at best as I prefer
Destruction any day over this and some folks may have a
problem with this not being lean and mean enough or not as
poppy and catchy as a Running Wild disc. I would say to
approach with caution and listen before buying.
www.candlelightrecordsusa.com |
www.official-headhunter.com |
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Marcello-Vestry - Self Titled (NL Distribution)
Review
by Steve Green |
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Marcello-Vestry is the baby of Danger Danger guitarist Rob
Marcello and vocalist Frank Vestry, who has worked with the likes of ex-Manowar
axeslinger Ross The Boss, and Jack Starr, in his Burning Starr project.
With the introductions over with, all I really need to tell you is that
this is catchy as hell, pure ear candy, in the shape of melodic hard rock.
Fellow writer Joe Florez normally covers this type of album, but I liked
this one from the off, so was more than happy to indulge myself, just for
once.
I'm not going to deny that this is as cheesy as hell, with
absolutely atrocious lyrics, but it sounds absolutely
fantastic, so it's something that's easy to overlook. Frank
Vestry has a
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fabulous voice and his familiar tones help take this album
straight back to the 80s. As does Rob Marcello's guitar work.
Like Eddie Van Halen, the man knows he is
talented, so he doesn't need to overdo things. All of his solo's are
wonderfully fluid and he cuts right down on the crap, so that every note
means something. The big winner on this album though is the actual songs.
They are all as catchy as hell and the choruses are as big, as no
doubt, are the hairstyles of their fanbase. I could do without the couple of
saccharin heavy ballads, but for the most part, this is brilliantly
executed 80s hard rock.
If, like myself, you've not listened to this style since the 80s, here's a
couple of pointers to their sound: Pyromania era Def Leppard, Y & T, circa
Summertime Girls, and Ozzy Osbourne's, classic, Shot In The Dark. All of
which, adds up to a really good album, that I've really (unexpectedly)
enjoyed. www.myspace.com/marcellovestry
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Mennen - Planet Black (Wacken Records) Review
by Steve Green |
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For the first couple of minutes of this cd I'd thought
I'd been sent a real duffer. The title track had no melody and the mix was
absolutely awful, then, just as clouds part to reveal the sun, the melody
started to shine through and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Somewhere
in my ridiculously disorganized collection of cds, I have their Freakazoid
album, which although I've not played for about 3 or 4 years, I remember
it being a fine piece of music, and for one moment, I thought they'd
completely changed direction.
Mennen formed in Holland in the early 90s and I think it's fair to say
that their influences lie in the US Hard Rock scene. This is very slickly
produced, very melodic and actually very
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likeable. I haven't really listened to this type of music on a
regular basis since the 80s, but I seem to have been bombarded
by it today. Rob Birnie was "blasting" out TNT
and Kip Winger on his Planet Rock show this morning and I've also been
consumed by the melodic delights of Rob Marcello (from Danger Danger), and
I've bought a cd copy of Uriah Heep's Head First, to finally
replace my old vinyl copy, so
something is definitely changing inside my head. Maybe I'll start being
nice to the kids as well. No, maybe that's taking things just
a little too far.
With my Metal roots still firmly stuck in the 80s, albeit of a heavier
persuasion, this is a nice companion to some of the more accessible albums
from back then, and this will definitely appeal to those that appreciate the
big hair bands and the more polished albums of the time. If that's your
bag, then this will be a good addition to your collection.
www.myspace.com/mennenrocks
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Parricide / Incarnated /
Reexamine - The 3 Ways of Brutality (Mad Lion)
Review by Chris Davison |
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I have always had a soft spot for the split release. It's
often a way for the lesser known and more underground natured
bands to release music for an unsuspecting or committed
audience. I suppose it harkens back to a bygone age for me,
when some of my pen pals would send me C-90 tapes of mixed
music, and you'd never be quite sure how good they would be. I
remember one guy sending me Lawnmower Deth – Oh Crikey... on
one side of the tape, but on the other was a veritable
smorgasbord of musical delights, including Acid Reign,
Entombed, Sodom and ...erm...Helloween.
So, here we have a whopping twenty four tracks from three
underground death metal acts. |
First up are Polish band Parricide,
who it seems have been plying their trade since 1990, making
them a venerable act to most. Gory and brutal, they have a
knack still for producing pant-swinging grooves and do a great
line in fun, memorable, none-too technical brutal death metal.
Their twelve tracks rattled by, raising the odd smile and head
nod, particularly with the amusing, “Bitch on Money Exchange
on Romanian and Hungarian Border”. Covering Brujeria and Dead
Infection, they clearly had a blast (sic) with this collection
of sick ditties. Plus, they seem to be particularly fond of
the Cowbell. Which is nice.
Incarnated are also
Polish. They play gory, old school death metal with a guitar
tone so dry that direct exposure to sunlight could cause their
music to spontaneously combust. With a sound roughly equal
parts Clandestine era Entombed and Symphonies of Sickness era
Carcass, this is infectious, seriously catchy music. For the
old schooler, such as me, this is mana from heaven. “Pound of
Meat”, for example, has a grinding, slow introduction before
lurching into an effective, destructive guitar riff and
necrotic vocals. The drums are also blasting in the old sense
of the word, being effective by the vary spartan use of
out-and-out speed, and based on a real metal style of rhythm
rather than a punk sensibility much loved by their more grind
based counterparts. The cheeky little blighters even play the
old Entombed track, “Abnormally Deceased” as a final track,
though they don't mention it as a cover.
Reexamine have the
outright temerity not to be Polish. They're Japanese, and as
such weren't even on the same side in the last bloody war.
Stereotyping quibbles aside, this is nasty, extreme modern
death metal with a dash of Deranged and plenty of
monster-banding highlights contrasted with sub-sonic pig-fart
vocals. The bass is extremely prominent in the mix, and played
with considerable aplomb, and while tracks like “Go Bonkers”
are chock full of memorable, head smashing moments, Rexamine
don't come off very well when compared to their Eastern
European cousins. Certainly not bad, but not up to the
excellent standards of Incarnated.
So, three bands, twenty four tracks and hardly a dull moment.
Fantastic value then, for those of us who like their metal
extreme and underground, this is a hefty treat. My only
criticism is this – where was the Acid Reign?
www.madlion.eu |
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Teach ‘Em All: A High
School Tribute to Metallica (Self-produced)
Review by Metal Mark |
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This is the third effort from High School Tribute project
which is lead by teacher/producer Patrice Beaudette who has
given a group of talented young people a chance to make their
own album. The other two projects were dedicated to KISS, but
this time Metallica are the object of the tribute. I remember
discovering Metallica as a teenager as I listened in awe to a
tiny radio cranking out “For whom the bell tolls” on a late
night radio show back in the summer of 1985. I remember having
to pick my chin off the floor in early 1986 when my ears first
soaked in the Master of Puppets. Even though Metallica never
quite became what I hoped, it’s still great to hear young
music fans appreciating the contributions of this band. |
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So we get eleven tracks which includes some of the more
standards like Creeping Death and Welcome Home (Sanitarium),
but much to their credit, they tackle some slightly lesser
known tracks like “Eye of the Beholder” and “The Thing That
Should Not Be” as well. For some reason the lesser known
tracks seem to be the ones that this group excelled on. My
sticking point with covers is that an artist needs to bring
something of their own ideas to the mix or else it’s
pointless. The major difference that these performers brings
are the vocals because we get both and male and female vocals
throughout and different performers that have various vocal
ranges. That’s not to say that all of the vocals work, but the
variation certainly helps to make it more interesting and most
of the vocals are strong. Now the first part of the music that
struck me was the drum sound, it was raw, pounding and quite
honestly I loved it. I only wish the rest of the music had
been as solid, but the guitar tone was often just adequate.
There are a few minor changes in arrangement and what was done
was fine, but it could used a few more risks and a little more
energy. As a whole I think this is certainly a better than
average tribute album and maybe even more so considering the
age of the performers and the fact the majority of these
tracks are over six minutes in length. Certainly an
interesting project that the people involved can be proud of.
www.myspace.com/highschooltributes |
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