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Aborted - Strychnine.213
(Century Media Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
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Belgium’s Aborted have always been a solid brutal death metal
band somewhat reminiscent of Cannibal Corpse, but with
considerably more groove. I have to say, however, that I sort
of lost track of them after “The Archaic Abattoir”
(apparently, a tumultuous period of line-up changes), and have
only given “Slaughter And Apparatus: A Methodical Overture” a
cursory listen or two.
At any rate, Aborted emerge once again with “Strychnine.213”,
their sixth full-length overall, and second in just two years.
Considering that I haven’t really given the band much
attention for a few years, what’s readily apparent with
“Strychnine.213” is that Aborted are |
no longer a brutal death metal band focused on gore. Instead,
Aborted have morphed into a deathcore band with plenty of melody thrown in for good
measure. Couple this release with the band’s recent inclusion
on the 2008 version of the Summer Slaughter tour currently
hitting venues across America, and Aborted are pretty
obviously making a concerted effort for more exposure.
Frankly, although the change in style isn’t really welcome in
the eyes of this reviewer, at least “Strychnine.213” isn’t a
total disaster like “The Unspoken King”. Plenty of moments of
the old Aborted are present with the dual Carcass-like vocal
attack, crunchy riffs, and blastbeats galore. However, plenty
of guitar melodies with clean solos find their way into the
mix, as well as a few electronic effects, and metalcore-style
breakdowns. Unlike “The Unspoken King” was for Cryptopsy,
however, “Strychnine.213” isn’t a complete about face for
Aborted and manages to hold my interest. Is this album on par
with “Goremageddon…” and earlier material of the previous
style? Certainly, that will depend upon your tastes as
“Strychnine.213” is the work of a mature band with skilled
musicians and songwriting ability, but I’m not ashamed to
admit that I prefer the earlier style. Oh, well.
In short, younger fans and those of you into deathcore will
probably want to pick up “Strychnine.213”, but I can’t
honestly say that I can give this album a strong
recommendation to those of you that lean towards the more
brutal side of the spectrum.
www.myspace.com/abortedmetal
| www.centurymedia.com |
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Communic - Payment Of Existence (Nuclear Blast) review by
James Young |
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What, Nevermore have a new album out? Of course not - what we
have here is Norway’s Communic with their latest album Payment
Of Existence. It’s a good album, but it would be impossible to
write a review without drawing some, or many, comparisons to
the American progressive thrashers. This band has been getting
increasingly Nevermore-y with each album, and this could be
construed as either a good or bad thing. Oddleif Stensland’s
voice can certainly be compared to that of Warrel Dane,
especially with many of the layered vocal sections, which give
the agonised feeling of Nevermore. This is by no means a bad
thing though, and the overall vocal performance is mightily
impressive. In the opening track |
‘On Ancient Ground’, the bellowing out of the catchy chorus is
a wonder to behold, whilst in ‘Unpredictables Of Life’ Stensland’s voice reaches
new levels. The drumming of Tor Atle Gabrielsen is in the same
complex thrash vein as Nevermore, but there seems to be a
little more double bass drumming in some places which
resembles power or heavy metal, which is never a bad thing.
There are many aspects of this album which can be assessed on
their own terms. The songs tend to be quite long, the majority
being over seven minutes, and it will take a lot of listening
to actually feel what each song is trying to accomplish. In
terms of accessibility this is not ideal, but it’s rewarding
if you choose to spend time concentrating when listening. The
closing track ‘Stone Closed Eyes’ for example clocks in at
over nine minutes and is certainly not for the impatient. This
band is also far less politically charged as Nevermore; they
sing about life but there is an overall feeling of dreaminess
rather than despair. Erik Mortensen’s guitar work during the
heavier sections can be compared to Jeff Loomis, but he is
less intricate, and blends in with the band as a whole. Rather
than having copious amounts of solos, there are many times
where there are guitar passages which accompany the drums and
bass, creating a bold atmosphere. There is a nice balance
between heavy and mellow on this album, and certain songs
balance the two perfectly. ‘Becoming Of Man’ starts in a
ballad-esque fashion, before being brought into a fairly
fast-paced number, occasionally reverting to the original
softness. There are times when power metal rears its head,
such as at the beginnings of the title track ‘Payment of
Existence’ and ‘Unpredictables Of Life’, the latter of which
certainly is hard to predict in terms of where it will go
next.
This will obviously appeal to fans of Nevermore, and there’s
enough variation for the album to be lapped up by thrash,
power and heavy metal fans alike. It will be interesting to
hear which direction the band will go in for the next album,
but for now we should all spend time giving this one some
time. Anyone going to Bloodstock this year should certainly
check them out.
www.communic.org |
www.myspace.com/communic |
www.nuclearblast.de |
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Dagon - In Desolationem Per Nefandum
(Fire of Fire Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
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Dallas, Texas based Dagon (not to be confused with a band from
Michigan of the same name) are a fairly run of the mill, raw
black metal trio more or less treading familiar ground on
their second full-length, entitled “In Desolationem Per
Nefandum” on Fire of Fire Records (AJNA Offensive has a hand
in this). Dagon’s brand of black metal is not particularly
original, given the well worn ground paved by acts such as the
early incarnations of Emperor, Satyricon, and so forth, but is
a fairly well done entry into the ranks of USBM.
Consisting of dissonant riffs, rough production, interesting
time changes, bits of melody through guitar work, hideous
troll-like rasps and other weird effects, and a generally mid- |
paced tempo, “In Desolationem Per Nefandum” is a competent
work with well written songs (“Corpus Hermeticum” approaches
epic proportions and is easily the best track on the album)
and decent musicianship for the genre. There are a few notable
weaknesses; however, as the vocals have an annoying tendency
to weaken with long passages as if the vocalist is running out
of breath, or at least the ability to sustain the rasps. In
addition, the drum production, although deliberately rough,
lacks a bit of depth that would’ve given the album some power.
Although a bit amateurish at moments, “In Desolationem…”
showcases a band with potential. However, Dagon have some work
to do as the quality of the competition in the USBM scene
continues to rise. Recommended.
www.fireoffire.com |
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Darkthrone - Frostland Tapes
(Peaceville) Review by Crin |
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Darkthrone are one of the few bands who can justifiably claim
to have altered the course of Metal. The much lauded, Under a
Funeral Moon, album of 1993 is quite rightly regarded as one
of the root exponents of the term TRUE BLACK METAL, that which
is raw, icy-low-fi and primitive. Unlike their fellow first
wave Norwegians, Darkthrone have pretty much stuck to their
simplistic ethos. They have watched Black Metal turn on its
head and roll under a rock to die, leaving the world to
perpetually emulate the past whilst the bands of that golden
era progress ever onwards or fragment trying. Like many of the
early |
Norwegian Black Metal acts, their demo days were from the more
Death inspired styles, much like Immortal [as Amputation], and
Emperor [as Thou Shalt Suffer]
To coincide with the band's 21st anniversary, this is a
fascinating trip into the earliest years of the band and the
first official release ever to contain all 4 of Darkthrone’s
demos in one place. This historical 3 cd document features the
1988 ‘Land of Frost’ Demo. A rough as you like deathly dirge
with hyper barking vocals and some quite unusual arrangements.
This is a band in their garage days, cumbersome, still finding
their feet and experimenting. 1988 was the year Slayer
released South of Heaven, so it was still a very thrashing
era. This savagely head ripping material reveals the technical
maturity this band displayed even at this early stage. The
whole atmosphere reeks of the early Mayhem/ Morbid style of
dark fuzzy death metal. Mayhem had released the now legendary
‘Deathcrush’ the year prior, so Norway was quite active during
this time.
Disc one also airs the A New Dimension demo, an intro and
one song proper [1988], and the more recognizable, Thulcandra’
demo of 1989. The recording has a more death style vocal
grunt. They remind me of a Max Cavalera choking on a bag of
nails. Musically, Darkthrone steam into the atmosphere with
precision and hostile intent. The sound is good and the songs
are carved from chopping riffs and fine guitar arrangements.
This really shows what a well oiled outfit Darkthrone were.
CD two, has the 1989 Cromlech demo, and a rare live recording
from Denmark in 1990 (one of only a handful of live
appearances that Darkthrone has ever made). The Cromlech demo
continues the weaving song craft of the, Thulcandra demo. An
Entombed style aggressive guitar attack melts into a swirling
technical dirge. This was the proto Soulside Journey album in
all its underrated glory. The live recording is unusual for
its scarcity. The mind is not programmed to absorb Darkthrone in a live environment. Still very much a Death and
roll act, the previous acclimatization of the bands early
style if regurgitated here live and loud. This was the year
Obituary released, Slowly we Rot, so a deathly climate was
certainly ushering the trash era into an early grave.
CD Three contains the previously unreleased version of the
1991 Goatlord rehearsal session. These songs were intended to
feature on the proposed second album, before the band changed
direction and the tapes were confined to the vaults. Vocals
were
subsequently added in the mid-nineties, but they are presented
here as the recording sounded in 1991. Like the Mayhem bootleg
, from the dark past [an instrumental rare demo of De
Mysteriis Dom Sathanas] this archive recording is glaringly
raw, un-produced and reeking of a recording never deemed for
public reflection. The version with vocals is not what fans
were expecting as it appeared just after the impressive
Panzerfaust album in 1996. The release seemed out of sequence
[its style completely out of tune with the bands evolution],
and set in motion an era of decline that was heightened with
the Total Death offering a year later. To hear Goatlord as an
instrumental in its entirety will test the endurance of the
most avid Darkthrone fan. Still, it serves as an amusing
studio recoding with the band speaking between tracks and
basically doing what bands do when they are having a blast in
the rehearsal room. Musically still very much Soulside Journey
in texture, although sounding like a ghastly demo. As a
historical document is reveals the band early growth to that
pivotal point of complete Satanic transformation. The set also
reveals Darkthrone were fine musicians and great song smiths
before they stripped their music down to the bare bones and in
their pre-corpse painted days. With some amusing sleeve notes
and a decent all round packaging, this is most definitely one
of the more essential releases you’ll no doubt be compelled to
acquire this year.
www.peaceville.com |
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Elysia - Lion Of Judas (Ferret) Review by Steve Green |
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"Elysia create epic battle hymns for the metal and hardcore set". That
statement says to me that Elysia are a cross between Manowar and
Biohazard, and they are most definitely not in the slightest bit
comparable to the true metal warriors. What you have here is a mixture of
hardcore which is streaked with a punkier attitude, mainly due to the
drumming and some of the vocalising. And there's also a tendency to slow
things right down and to roll out a few molten riffs and thunderous
rhythms, which add a nice bit of light and shade to the proceedings. But
coming from an old school metal background myself, I don't think this type
of music has a lot to do with metal. This is for a new breed of extreme
music fans, |
which I think, rather unfortunately, gets lumped in with more
metallic genres. Despite not sounding like a traditional
hardcore band, and ignoring the fact that there a few nuances
that you'd find in a grind or extreme death outfit, or even a
doom outfit if pushed, I'd put this down for those that prefer
the left of field shit (as in stuff, not crap music) such as screamo and the various genres that deal in the more technical side of
extreme music.
This is heavy, this is brutal, this is crushing and unforgiving, just
don't call it metal.
www.myspace.com/elysia |
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Hatchet - Awaiting Evil
(Metal Blade) Review by Chris Davison |
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Ok, so what's the first thing you think of when you combine
the words “hatchet” and “thrash”. If you thought instantly of
the track “She took an axe” from the classic Flotsam and
Jetsam debut album, Doomsday for the Deceiver, then you are
probably a man of a certain age. I am one of those men. Unlike
some of my Live4metal colleagues, I am not of the svelte
variety. I can remember thrash the first time round though,
and it may be that all those memories have been stored in my
more than adequate paunch. I'm also so old that I can remember
the first thrash revival that ended with a whimper,
spearheaded by a horde of Scandinavian warriors obsessed by
beer and irony. At least the (better) bands in this wave |
of thrash have the sense to play the stuff straight and not go
straight for laughs. Anyway, after this digression (of Olympic
size), the point I was making was that if you thought of
Hatchet (Metal Blade), you're clearly tuned in to the recent
wave of thrash metal. Formed in the US of A back in 2005, this
seems to be a youthful crowd, with a bassist who was recruited
when he was merely 17 years old. It's sometimes nice to know
that thrash isn't the preserve of crusty old farts. Like me. *
Anyway, this is thrash in the old school variety – coming at
you like an unholy mix of Ultraviolence, Death Angel, Bonded by
Blood era Exodus with a dash of Killing is my Business era
Megadeth. If that isn't thought enough to get your slack jaws
salivating, you're probably at the wrong website hombre –
live4poseurs.com is down the hall, take a right and ask for
Nigel. Anyway, back to the music at hand. It's nicely dynamic
speedy metal, with the mix favouring the twin guitars and
their tasty mix of sharp hatchet work (chortle) over the well
played but annoyingly tinny drums. The bass is well presented
and is instrumental in producing the pounding tempo of many of
the songs, none more so than on the showcase track, “Attack
Imminent”. The vocals are amusing enough, though the faux
first wave of thrash yelps at the end of every line does start
to grate on ones tits before long. Honestly chaps, I don't
mind seeking influence in good metal, but for fucks sake,
there's a reason why the thrash yelps were abandoned – they
were shit. That being said, the standard of the songwriting is
top notch, and although these tracks do tend to rattle by at
quite a rate, there's enough variation in theme and sound to
ensure that it doesn't all sound like one homogeneous blur.
So where do they rank in comparison to the other touted “next
big things” in the world of neo-neo-thrash? Well, this is a
really enjoyable, brains-off record that to my mind is better
than any of the recorded output of the likes of Gama Bomb or
Bonded by Blood, not in the least because of the frequent use
of well played solos and attention to making good songs first
rather than playing thrash with their tongues pushed firmly in
their cheeks. I'm not sure that it's better than Enter the
Grave, but the more I hear it (for various reasons I haven't
been able to listen to this album as much as I would like to,
but fear not, I will be playing it plenty more), the more I
think that I will be more inclined to give this album repeated
listens than many of their cousins. Thrash is back? Who
cares. Hatchet are here – give them a spin.
www.metalblade.de
*Please note that Chris is 8 years younger than me, and a
good 14 years younger than our oldest reviewer - Steve |
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