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Aural Amphetamine: Metallica And The Dawn Of Thrash DVD
(Sexy Intellectual)
Review by Steve Green |
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Yes, this is a very interesting documentary, but one I feel that was done
on a shoestring budget. This is a 90+ minute documentary that tells the
story of the NWOBHM and the beginning of the Thrash scene up to about
1986. Which obviously leaves scope for a sequel if this release does well.
I found the early part of the story, which concentrated on the birth of
Metal in general and then the NWOBHM very interesting, probably as it was
a time that I too was discovering this great new invention. Heavy Metal.
This then leads onto Lars Ulrich's love for the genre, his meeting with
Diamond Head etc... the early days of Thrash, the Bay Area scene and then
the focus mainly concentrates on the first three Metallica albums. The
story is very well put together, despite a few sloppy moments. Using a
picture of the Ripper era of Judas Priest when talking about the 80s
version of the band and a couple of pointless |
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interviewees who have absolutely nothing to say and the sound
quality of Joel McIver's interview pieces is way below
standard, which does cheapen this release a little. But
overall, this is an interesting trip down memory lane, with
good narration and a nice flow throughout. And no subject
seems to be taboo either, as the death of Cliff Burton and the
drink problems of Dave Mustaine are both covered, as is
Metallica's hatred for the LA Glam scene. I just wish a little
more care had been taken with the project as a whole. But
despite any quibbles I have with this DVD, it still comes
recommended and is a great excuse to, once again, relive your
youth.
www.chromedreams.co.uk
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Avenged Sevenfold - Dear God
(Warner Bros) Review by Revis Doherty |
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First time I heard this I was like ' For God's sake, another
stupid, soppy acoustic, about how much the singer misses their
girlfriend.' And that is exactly what it is, but it's better
than all the other pieces of crap you get, which I shan't
name. This is last track of their latest self-named album, it
seemed like an awful way to end a brilliant album. But it most
definitely isn't. It's still a rock song, but one that has
been mellowed down with acoustic guitars. And it is not a
sell-out. And I'm glad of it. I have vowed never to listen to
bands who work just for the money, not the fans, and if A7X
did that, I'd be so pissed off I can't describe it. |
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This is a departure from the norm from the rest of their
material, but it's still just as good.
www.avengedsevenfold.com |
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Brocken Moon - Das Märchen Vom Schnee (Northern
Silence)
Review by Steve Green |
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Northern Silence and its collection of sub-labels are fast becoming one of
my favourite sources for new music. In the last year or so, they seem to
have developed this great knack of discovering underground bands and
re-issuing their works which would otherwise be buried deep in the
undergrounds murky soul. This time around the object for your desires is
Brocken Moon, an ambient Black metal project from Germany. I have to say
ambient as this isn't just a fiery homage to our old mate Satan. This has
haunting acoustics, whispered vocals and oodles of chilled out
atmospherics and in places, is actually quite beautiful. |
The album is one 50 minute song, broken down into 6 pieces, each one is
represented by a number. Part III bears a striking resemblance to the
melody from Neil Young's Like A Hurricane, albeit in a fuzzy Black Metal
kind of way. The comparisons end after the four minute mark as the vocals
change to that of an irate crow that's been shot in the ass, (well that's how
they sound to me) and Wotan's Return by In The Woods springs to mind. And
a coarser version of In The Woods, with maybe a little early Ulver mixed
in wouldn't be a bad comparison to make. Apart from the the final number
which is a slow, hypnotising piece that floats serenely for a
full 20 minutes, bringing your mood down to one of complete mellowness.
Which is a very nice way to end the album on.
www.northern-silence.de |
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Darkest Era - The Journey Through Damnation (Eyes
Like Snow)
Review by Steve Green |
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I've had this cd a while, and yes, that means this review is a little
late. Apologies all round. But I'm more upset with myself for not
discovering this gem a little earlier. Darkest Era are from Northern
Ireland and they blend a very obvious Irish sound with more traditional
Metal fare. Kind of like mixing Primordial with (Metal nutters) Conquest
of Steel. This is epic, jaw dropping Metal, with an earthy Celtic heart.
Music that warms your heart with its passion and pride. Fuck, I just love
this kind of thing. I may have left my homeland a good 20 years ago, but a
passionate Celtic fire still burns through my veins. From the impassioned
cry's of battle to more atmospheric moments, this is a short, but joyous
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journey that you cannot help be sucked into. Music that is
played from the heart cannot be faked and this is about as
real as it gets. Considering the band have only been together
a short while, this is almost as good as Primordial's To The Nameless Dead... I did say almost.
Look guys, (and gals) four tracks is not enough. A full length album is
needed asap. Darkest Era are most definitely a band to watch and are maybe the next big thing
from the Emerald Isle.
www.northern-silence.de |
www.myspace.com/darkestera |
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Elevener - When
Kaleidoscopes Collide (AOR Heaven)
Review by Dave Baynham |
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Remember those “soft metal” compilations from years ago? These
guys do. Elevener is two friends from Sweden, Johan Bergquist
on vocals, keyboards and bass with Andreas Broden on guitar
and drums. Bergquist plays keyboards with M.ill.ion and was
previously in Scenario, while Broden has done session work.
Both are talented but just as important is the way that it
comes across that they really love this kind of music. So we
have here an album that is wall to wall quality 1980’s AOR,
only made now. The vocals are smooth and multilayered, the
keyboards shimmer and the guitar sound is sweet. There are two
tracks that the casual listener would mistake for Toto, along
with a fair amount of Journey and |
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Foreigner sounds in the mix. All of which makes for a fun
album. In fact another of the appealing qualities of this is
how upbeat and bouncy it is. There are catchy choruses, and
tunes I found myself humming on the way to work. The lyrics
are as one would expect about girls, lost love and memories
and have a soft centre of sentimentality running through them.
If you like melodic rock / AOR then this is a great example from a new act who deserve
encouragement.
www.myspace.com/elevenelevenagain |
www.aorheaven.com |
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Ereb Altor - By Honour
(I Hate Records) Review by
Chris Davison |
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Some things ye should know about Ereb Altor before we start
the review in earnest. One: they are from Sweden. Two: They
like Bathory. A lot. Which is nice. They like the Bathory I
like, which is to say not the rubbish early Venom worship
(sorry Crin!), but the later “Woooooo-Ohhhhhh” laden epic
Viking sound. Three: Ereb Altor was a supplement for a Swedish
RPG. Apparently. It's also an anagram for ROBE ALERT. Ok, so
the last two things you probably didn't need to know, but hey,
it's all knowledge, and it's all free right? Think of me as
the metal equivalent of Radio 4. Except without gardeners
question time. |
So. Back on topic, this is a fantastic, evocative album
dripping with atmosphere. It comes as no surprise to me that I
Hate would pick something up like this; it's more cult than
sacrificing your only son to an effigy of the late Aleister
Crowley while listening to a split Manilla Road / Vondur split
12”, inflected with doom and (I wouldn't be surprised if) the
CD is actually so metal that it will disrupt the magnetic
fields of your home electrical equipment. All of which is a
needlessly wordy way of saying that this is a rather cool
release. Those of you who are not of a beardy, axe wielding
disposition need not be upset though. There is more to Ereb
Altor than mere Bathory worship, though there is that in
spades. You will also experience the same leaden, downbeat and
somewhat ethereal vocal style “popularised” by the first two
Isole albums, and more than a hint here and there of the more
epic moments of Solitude Aeturnus.
Calling this album “epic” is a bit like calling Genghis Khan
“a bit aggressive”. If there's one thing that this album does,
it's paint huge aural landscapes in your head; snow peaked
mountains, frozen lakes, weary warriors returning home. The
pace of each track varies from almost-jogging through to
crawling in pain over smashed up glass, though the songs never
become tedious. The riffing, while effective, uses that trick
so often employed by Black metal outfits of using minimal
changes and hypnotic repetition to slowly ensnare the
listener. This then is the kind of music that Abbath probably
uses to wind down to after he's had a hard day hammering nails
through his boots and scuttling about on stage like some
demented frog / crab hybrid. There are some tasty guitar solo
moments, most memorably on the stirring “By Honor”(sic). The
two mysterious boys who make up Ereb Altor (Mats and Ragnar)
aren't afraid to make things heavy either; the opening
portions of “Winter Wonderland” (and it's testament to the
band that they can carry off a song title like that) are as
war-hammer heavy as anything I've heard from I Hate this year.
The production is clear, with plenty of prominence given to
the clean, choral vocals.
Something like this is always going to be a niche release, but
let's be honest, I Hate, Ereb Altor and you and I like it that
way don't we? We don't want our music popular. We don't want
it bastardised, pasteurised or sodomised (Sodom excepted). We
want it cult. We want it ROBE ALERT.
www.ihate.se |
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Flotsam and Jetsam - Once in a
Deathtime DVD (Metal Mind) Review by Chris Davison |
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So, it seems as if Metal Mind productions are continuing their
never-ending quest to ensure that any metal band that has ever released
any record have a live show in Krakow recorded onto DVD. For those of you
who don't know, Flotsam and Jestsam are famous for two things. Firstly,
(and to my my mind most importantly), they recorded the stone-cold classic
“Doomsday for the Deceiver” album way back in that most classic of thrash
years, 1986. It's a brilliant album, and any of you neo-thrash kids could
do much worse than put your Evile record away for a few plays and track
down a copy of it. Younger readers may not know that Kerrang! Magazine
used to review heavy metal bands rather than eye-liner wearing punk bands,
and they gave the album an implausible 6 Ks our of 5Ks. Secondly, they
(infamously) lost Jason Newsted to some no-hoper band that soon became the
laughing stock of the heavy metal community at large. |
To my shame, perhaps, I lost track of Flotsam and Jetsam to some extent.
Occasionally I would see that they had released another new album in an
advert in magazines or whatever, but I never really heard how they
sounded. This DVD, which dip samples the impressive nine album discography
of the band is an excellent starting place to catch up with some true
survivors of thrash.
Of course, with this being a Metal Mind production, as you would expect
the vision is outstanding, with excellent lighting, outstanding production
and editing and impressive shots of a hungry (and packed) crowd. The sound
is also quality, being much clearer than on the earlier releases on the
DVD series. Of course, this isn't a band who are young, and so it's to be
expected that some of the band look a little like grizzled veterans – but
they also look as if they are having a blast playing for such an
enthusiastic crowd. A crowd, which, may I add, seem to know the words to
every song. It's an energetic performance of classic thrash tunes – and
even those songs that I wasn't au fait with seemed to stand the test of
time very well, which is often hard for heavy metal tunes to achieve on
first listen.
There are some criticisms however. The extras are a bit spartan, confined
in this case to a miserly interview, which though of some interest is kind
of flat in tone. There are the usual discographies and biographies, but no
bonus footage or camcorder footage which are rapidly becoming the industry
norm on DVD releases. There are only 12 songs here too – which is a shame
because having watched the main concert three times, at the end of each
play I was still left with the feeling “I could watch some more of that”.
I suppose the old showbiz maxim of “leave them wanting more” might apply
to some, but not to me, because I'm a metal glutton I'm afraid.
This then is likely to appeal to hardened Flotsam and Jetsam fans first
and foremost, with those with a wider interest in thrash metal perhaps
taking a peep if they should come across it. Me ? I'm glad that they sent
it to me, not least because it has shown me what I have been missing. I
don't think Mrs D is going to be a huge fan of course, particularly when
the mail order parcels of their back catalogue CD's start clattering
through my letter box...
www.metalmind.com.pl/index.php?jezyk=en |
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