|
|
|
|
|
Ethernal - Grim Ethernity
(Unholy Design) Review by Crin |
 |
English Black Metal has never been a thriving hotbed of activity. The
bands that inhabit the underground are usually condemned to stay there
forever. Unlike the more fertile Finnish and Germanic undergrounds, the
Brits face a far more difficult prospect of ever being signed. The one
sure way of getting over this dilemma is to release your own material
which is just what this band have opted for. [A brave endeavour that again
is more often than not a good way of burning your savings] Now, does that
make the music any less exciting than a more established label A&R
knobhead would discover? Of course not. This is a major problem of the
established labels force feeding you the music they feel you
should be |
hearing. To bypass this more than often dross is to seek the
unsullied music of the underground. Now I’ve got that off my
chest, lets assess the music here.
Black Metal is what the biog designates the music to be, and I won’t argue
with that. From the off we are bludgeoned with a raw basic guitar/drum,
roaring vocal attack. Snapping snares, busy fret work and barking
vociferous hate all splatter into the ears like flies dive-bombing a fresh
goat’s turd. As the album progresses the music becomes less abrasive with
softer keyboard parts and more subtle guitar arrangements taking the
coarseness off the sharp aural bite. The songs become more than just a
Blackened dirge. There is a fine mind at work here, a mind that is
familiar with the construction of a song and this knowledge is used to its
full creative muse. If there is such a thing as English Black Metal then
this would be echoing its uniqueness as the Black Metal ethos of England
is both eccentric and unique. Look at Akercocke, Forefather, Anaal
Nathrakh, Meads of Asphodel, Bal Sagoth, Cradle of Filth. All part of a
wonderfully diverse collective built on the Black Metal theme. Ethernal
have a certain charm, a distinctive style that is unlike any other and yet
very much familiar. This band are not as easily identifiable as the
aforementioned acts, but they certainly are worthy of your attention.
www.unholydesign.com |
| |
| Fight - Into The Pit
(Metal God Entertainment) By: Joe Florez |
 |
This box set here was a huge undertaking, but I was up for the
challenge. Well, since Mr. Halford decided to buy his back
catalogue, he decided to remaster everything and throw in a
few bones. First there, was a Fight DVD issued a while back,
but the debut CD “War Of Words” was only included in that.
Now, we have a four disc box set with all of the Fight albums
housed under one roof. When I found out who was doing the PR,
I took a shot to see if I would be qualified to receive it and
I got this bastard. All I can say is FUKIN’ A! This thing is
massive and awesome. Post “Painkiller”, Rob had the urge to
venture out solo and he did. He managed to bring along skin
basher from hell Scott Travis to make this thing happen.
Bottom line, this thing fired on all cylinders with massive
amounts of adrenalin. “Into The Pit” which found its way onto
radio and MTV was just what we all wanted. Hard driving riffs
with a relentless beat down on the drumming and vocals that
soared beyond the |
heavens. This was metal of the highest order to counter the
alternative crowd. Now that it has had a chance for a
makeover, this sounds better and even more sinister. Love it!
If you are one of the few that has unfortunately never heard
this cut, all I can say is that your blood will be pumpin’. Another mainstay on radio and TV was “Nailed To The
Gun” with equally dangerous results and with the added
background help during the chorus only made this thing more
vicious. Damn, I wanted to start up a “fight” (pun intended)
every time I heard this jam. The solo on here also rocked out
the speakers. I didn’t think it could happen, but Rob had the
capability to slow things down with “Life In Black” and
“Little Crazy.” LFB kind of slugs through the motions, but has
a dark and sinister tone to it, so it won’t bog you down.
Despite this release being a full on metal assault on the ear,
“Kill It” changes things up slightly by being a tad
industrial. It still has a hard edge, but it was a bit
downtuned and staccato riffs were utilized. It was apparent
that there was experimenting going on and Halford wanted to do
something more than just metal. If you never owned the
original like me, then this is crucial in your Halford
collection.
The experimenting continues in a big way with the Mutations
disc. Also included besides four live tracks were seven songs
from the debut all bastardized. These tracks are given the
industrial touch as there are two versions of “War Of Words”
and “Kill It.” The riffs have a more staccato edge to them as
pointed out on the debut. Some string arrangements seem to
have been added just for fooling around. The atmospheric vibe
is very cold sounding and there are even programmed beats
injected. This is ok, but could have done without it before
and now. Only for the curious. We now jump onto the second and
final full length release from Fight. A Small Deadly Space
when initially released pretty much fell on deaf ears. I think
people had moved on with something else. I don’t know why this
didn’t do as well cause this thing is amped up with metal to
the max. Lead cut “Beneath The Violence” is just ripping with
howling vocals, heavy guitar work and a rhythm section that is
absolutely ruthless. There’s some tempo changes on some of the
songs that definitely come off as experimental even though the
metallic guitar sound is there. The title track would be a
good example blending industrial with metal. “I Am Alive” is
slower than anything on here and you can tell that Rob wants a
change of pace. The songs on here surprisingly held up quite
nicely. It was still metal, but you can tell that The Metal
God was ready for a change and the Two project would prove to
be disastrous. I think this record overall was overlooked and
should be given another listen. Lastly, we get to the DVD
which contains a concert and extra goodies. This specific
concert here was one of three filmed during the massive
promotional tour to promote the Fight band. There is another
one captured on the other Fight DVD package. Compared to a
Priest concert, this is stripped down. It’s Rob and the boys
playing in a club and using no more than two cameras to
capture it all. Mr. Halford isn’t decked out in his leather.
Instead, he has a t-shirt, shorts and a baseball cap on.
Everyone fires on all cylinders and sounds great as they rip
through “Into The Pit”, “Nailed To The Gun” and everything
else from the debut disc. It’s just nice to have it if you are
a fan. It’s nothing special since it’s all stripped down. The
bonus features include the original commercial aired for “War
Of Words.” Typical behind the scenes features are here too
including rehearsals and a video for “Blowout In The Radio
Room” from the second disc which as far as I’m concerned, I've
not seen in a long time.
Once again, The Metal God went all out on this thing by making
this an essential purchase. The packaging and new artwork is
bad ass. There is a nice booklet in there with new photos not
seen before and these discs were re-mastered by the almighty
Roy Z. The price is slightly steep. You are looking at about
fifty U.S. dollars, but it’s four discs people. That’s about
twelve a pop. Just buy the damn thing…or else!
www.halfordmusic.com |
www.robhalford.com |
| |
|
Fireland - Fireland
(Self Published) Review by Strawb |
 |
A Northern Ireland based twin lead guitar heavy metal band is
how their website describes Fireland. It also states that they
were formed in 2003. My maths therefore tells me that it has
taken five years to issue this release. And it is self
published, and I’m not sure if this is by choice or just
because of no interest from established record companies, but
I do have my suspicions. The genre of heavy metal encompasses
many bands, and I found it difficult to name one whom I would
directly compare with Fireland, in fact I found my search
taking me further into the realms of classic rock, and still
feel that the band have managed a unique sound, whilst
displaying many influences. And it is in them doing this that
I encountered my |
|
problem, there is not one tune that stands out in any way. I
have listened to this album in all of my normal arenas, whilst
driving, whilst in the gym, relaxing, and of course whilst
composing this review, and I find that am watching the display
to see how many tracks have gone, and how many of the twelve
are left before I can put another platter on. For my tastes
the vocals do not suit, and seem weak at times compared to the
instrumental output. The opening track, Servants Of The Dark,
has a soft and melodic opening before the instrumental joining
in, but as the track with the best opportunity to grab your
attention and make you want more it fails, and I noted it as
weak and insipid. And rarely did my opinion of this album rise
above this assessment in any of my many listening to it. So
sorry to Chris, Andy, Steve and Jamie, but this is one
destined to enter the drawer of not to be played again.
However my usual rider, try them yourself on their website at
www.fireland.tv |
| |
Gideon Smith And The
Dixie Damned - South Side Of The Moon (Small Stone)
Review by Metal Mark |
 |
Former Antiseen roadie and turned vocalist/guitarist Gideon
Smith has enlisted a number of musicians to help him create a
rather feisty assault on the senses with his new release. It’s
a twisted blend of fuzzy, hard hitting early 70’s hard rock,
twangy 70’s Southern Rock and some random doses of punk
energy. The diversity in styles and the overall busy sound
makes you feel like a lot is being thrown at you all at once.
They know how to milk it as they get a lot of mileage out of
almost every little bit they squeeze out. At times they come
across sounding like a cross between the Doors, Zeppelin,
early ZZ Top and the Allman Brothers, only woven together and
blasted at full volume. Once they get a song moving it |
|
just rolls and that’s the major strength here. They can take
their influences and blast with them and their timing is
strong on the faster tracks. The downside is that the writing
just isn’t as competent on the slower tracks. The cracks in
the armor begin to show when they slow down because they just
are not creating enough to pull off these type of songs. The
other problem is that the vocals are very limited in range.
They work alright on the fast songs, but on the slower tracks
it just drones on like someone doing a poor Jim Morrison
imitation. Fortunately the ideas and the fuzzy, pumped up rock
flows enough to keep this album afloat.
www.myspace.com/gideonsmiththedixiedamned |
| |
|
Gloria Morti - Eryx
(Cyclone Empire) review by Sam Thomas |
 |
Gloria Morti have been knocking around for nearly ten years
now, but this is the first time I’ve come across these
particular Finns. They started out as a four piece thrash
outfit, but have evolved through numerous line-up changes to a
five piece that are playing in the not-yet properly defined,
but nonetheless burgeoning rapidly, field of melodic extreme
metal. Eryx is their second full length album, and was
self-financed before being picked up by Stay Heavy and Cyclone
Empire. Destructhor from Zyklon outs in a guest appearance on
final (regular) track, “Sands of Hinnom”, which again hints at
the style.
Structurally, the tracks are very much in the symphonic black
style of Emperor, but the |
vocals are more akin to death metal. If you can imagine Mikael
Åkerfeldt in his Bloodbath incarnation fronting on “In the
Nightside Eclipse” you won’t be too far away from what Gloria
Morti are doing. And yes, I am comparing them to a couple of
superb bands quite deliberately: that is the level at which
you should place "Eryx". The production (largely courtesy of
guitar player Juho Räihä, mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvoxx)
is staggeringly flawless. The music is unrelenting, but the
keyboards (one of the most abused instruments in metal) soar
perfectly above the brutality of the guitars and a drum kit
that is being pulverised into submission.
But don’t be misled: when I say that the music is unrelenting,
it doesn’t mean that it is all the same. There are lighter
moments, even the occasional flight into industrial territory
as on the first bonus track “Mesopotamia”, which has
magnificent clashing sounds and is altogether rather like an
old-style Hollywood epic soundtrack: think Cecil B DeMille
does “Lawrence of Arabia” with modern instruments, perhaps.
All of these little touches go to show what a reservoir of
talent Gloria Morti have to draw on, and how versatile they
are.
To sum up, then: brilliant example of modern melodic death
metal. Prodigious amount of musical ability, can’t fault it at
all.
www.gloriamorti.com |
www.cyclone-empire.com |
| |
|
Hanger - The Reason Of
Your Conviction (Wacken
Records) Review by Strawb |
 |
If I were some sort of moral guardian for this site then it is
likely that The Reason Of Your Conviction would have been on
the censored pile well before it had been listened to. The
concept of a person discovering new sensations through the
death of others, becoming a serial killer? We reject it. Then
looking on the website to find the five members of this
Brazilian band clad in Hannibal Lecter masks. Rejected, sealed
in lead and buried at a secret Government site, or left on a
train. However as site policy is that we accept the right of
each person to set their own limits I have had the absolute
pleasure of listening over and over to this gem. Mrs S loved
it as we journeyed long, and compared it to Bruce |
Dickinson, when he used to be good. Others have heard it and
made favourable enquiries, and on a couple of occasions I have
been asked if it was something new from Maiden? No it isn’t,
but I see the similarities but also appreciate the differences
and would put this on the turntable over the majority of the
recent Maiden output, with the exception of Brave new World.
Steve, the wonderful overseer of this site likened the disk to
the Joe Lynne Turner era of Rainbow, further stating ‘it
sounds very good’ – and this from the man who screens most of
the CDs on this site.
Hanger were formed in 1997 and have recorded two previous
albums, in 1999 and 2001, so this difficult third album has
been a long time in the making, but well worth it in this
reviewers opinion. The net reveals that the band are
constantly doing shows, mainly at home, but have backed up
some significant names, Dream Theater and Sepultura standing
out. There is an invite on there for European promoters to
make contact. Can I add a please to that?
Back to the album, the production makes the sound clear and
clean whilst maintaining the forceful impact we all desire. No
weak spots at all in the instrumental output and the vocals
are spot on. Each track is distinct. Let me be honest, my
buttons are all pressed, this is as near to perfect as I have
heard in ages. Play it loud and play it often.
The band have a website at
www.hangar.mus.br/ing/index.php |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
