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Destination's Calling - Invisible Walls
(Silverwolf) Review by
Mat Willcocks |
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Destination’s Calling are a Bavarian group that this writer
has only minimal previous knowledge of. Around since 1997,
their output has been minimal and any kind of historic
trail of theirs is almost non-existent. Nevertheless,
‘Invisible Walls’ is an extremely well produced traditional
power metal album. Note the ‘traditional power metal’ part of
that last sentence – without the theatrics of Helloween, the
consistency of Primal Fear or the sheer wizardry of Masterplan,
the young DC are seemingly devoid of any character which
defines their fellow countryman. That said, the enthusiasm
shines through evident with the double whammy of
Queensryche-ish ‘Intro’ and ‘Fallen From Grace’, but the
consistency |
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is regrettably lacking. For every standout track (the headbanger incarnate of ‘Trapped In Silence’, the epic
8-minute title track) there are unfortunately a number of
tracks which lack catch or originality (see the rest). The
power metal scene is now blessed with the likes of Circus
Maximus and Pagans Mind, groups that have taken Power Metal
and cast a progressive spell on the genre. Therefore it is
likely that DC are to consign themselves to the “What Could
Have Been...” section of history along with Headstone Epitaph,
Chinchilla and Serenity.
www.destinationscalling.com |
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Metallica - Death Magnetic
(Warner Brothers) Review by Metal Mark |
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So Metallica return with their first album in over five years
and expectations have been raised due to Rick Rubin's
involvement plus various promises and predictions that they
would go back to a heavier style this time around. Despite
their album sales over the last say 17 years there are still
plenty of fans yearning for the band to go back to being a
metal act once more. So the whole thing starts with a
heartbeat before launching into the opener "That Was Just
Your
Life". This is a choppy, punchy kind of middle-weight track
very much reminiscent of "And Justice For All" material
although you can hear the bass and it doesn't drag as was the
problem with much of that album. "The End of the Line"
comes up |
second and again this offering is also similar to "And Justice
For All" in style. It's a bit more deliberate and takes some
time to build up the momentum, yet the structure is tight and
they manoeuvre through it fairly well. "Broken, Beat and
Scarred" sounds a good bit along the lines of the previous two
tracks, but with sharper turns and they stretch out their
wings a bit more as you can feel the comfort level from them
growing a little here. By this point in the album we have
heard more metal crunch in these three songs then we have from
any Metallica album in some time. "The Day That Never Comes"
trickles out slow and light and my first thoughts were "Black
Album". However after a few minutes I realized it was actually
quite a bit more like "One" in the pace changes yet obviously
it wasn't as surprising or interesting, although we get a big
burst of solos well into the track. Not quite as solid as the
previous tracks yet in the long run it does work as a decent
change of pace at this point in the album. Then we come to as big
of a knockout punch as this album delivers in "All Nightmare
Long". It is not only the heaviest song here but also maybe
the most original track on this album, for what that's worth.
While the previous songs all sound directly like something
Metallica has already done, this song has them taking the
sound they created and running crazy with it. If the album had
ended there then we might be talking about a return to form
and length-wise they maybe could have stopped as it's about 40
minutes in already.
"Cyanide" comes on with a large and simple
twisting-riff and although heavy enough it just meanders
around way too much and we get the first filler track of the
album. Was anyone excited when they heard that "The Unforgiven
3" was going to be included of this disc? I kind of doubt it
and although they try had to handle in a way that's respectful
and not too gaudy, it just comes across as being more than a
little pointless. It's okay with a fairly tempered sound yet a
sequel song in principle tends to be limited and we get a
track that's slightly warmed over at best. "The Judas Kiss"
initially starts to pump on with a fairly promising riff
although the drums sound a little bland. This song does a lot
of restrained rolling around for a few tenuous moments, but at
times they shoot out a little and more than anything, they keep
the fire burning enough to maintain my interest. It's not as
strong as the first half of the album because it stays a tad
too tied down for me. Still it keeps the ship afloat as the
two previous tracks were starting to pull the mood down.
"Suicide and Redemption" is a swirling instrumental that
sounds like a jam that includes parts that could have been used
to make the basis for a few songs. The problem is here the
parts are just a bit too disjointed for it to really flow. It
just seems a bit too much like someone said "hey, we used to
do instrumentals so let's do one here, but we'll keep it loose
so it won't sound too planned out". It's alright, but on an
album this length I think the overall feel of the album would
have been better had they saved it for another time. The
closer "My Apocalypse" is a galloping cruncher that churns and
chugs on it's course. The guitar sound here seems a little
less heavy than on the earlier tracks for some reason. Still
it's a very concise pounding style that succeeds in ending the
album on a high note. So a complete return to form it is not.
I am still scratching my head as it seems like most of Metallica's career has been about moving ahead and doing what
they wanted (that doesn't mean it was always good). Yet now
they suddenly feel the need to really borrow from their past
on the majority of this album. Do they really care that a
number of fans think they should sound like they did in the
1980's? I doubt it, yet much of the material here tries to
reach back in time and recapture some of those moments. It is
a metal album, which makes it the first one for them since 1988
and it's actually overall a decent album that might continue
to grow on me even more. Still those fans still standing
around in their faded "Master of Puppets" shirts, wringing
their hands and waiting for a total return to form might have
to wait even longer, but I wouldn't hold my breath for it. |
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Thin Lizzy - UK Tour 75
(MLP) Review By Strawb |
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Evolution - Noun - any process of formation or growth;
development. And from this brief definition, you may see where
I interpret this album to be in the grand scheme of all things
metal. Today, everyone has heard of Thin Lizzy, and many out
there will have caught recent tours and been amazed as we were
all of those years ago. But the current band is missing the
one vital ingredient,
PHILIP PARRIS LYNOTT
20th August 1949 - 4th January 1986
Now we all have our favourite line-up in every band, and often
we disagree with the journalists’ promoted best line-up;
however, I have yet to find anyone outside of a care in |
the state facility who favours Thin Lizzy without Phil. This disc
has the master leading his band. And it is a band featuring
what I consider to be their best line-up, just established,
finding some success with the Fighting album and rushing
headlong towards the phenomenon which was to be called
Jailbreak. A number of people at this time recalled the
previous success that was Whiskey In The Jar, but that had
been a flash in the pan with a previous line-up and style many
years before. I recall that at around this time the band were
getting an amount of good press coverage, but a mere drop in
the ocean compared to what was to come. This album illustrates
just why the press and, much more importantly, the fans were
jumping on board. It is mastered to the CD from the originally
recorded tape for the sound deck, and the accompanying bumph
states that a twenty-page booklet will accompany the CD. A
defect on the actual disk sent to me precludes my reviewing
every track, but ensures that I will be there on the 8th of
September with the rest of you, hard-earned in hand, wanting
to part with the same for a pristine copy of this one. From
the opening ‘yea, one, testing’ which leads into ‘Fighting’, I
am captivated. The three-guitar line up, so common these days,
was groundbreaking, and Phil on his bass, along with Scott
Gorham and Brian Robertson on guitars are perfectly
complimented by Brian Downey thrashing the living daylights
out of the skins. ‘It’s Only Money’ is preceded by a later to
be familiar appeal of ‘we need your helping hands here’, and
the track actually has a few faint backing vocals. ‘Wild One’
comes as the third track, slower and almost ballad-like with a
message therein. Phil informs us that ‘For those who love to
live’ was written with George Best in mind. For those weaned
on and sated by the seminal ‘Live And Dangerous’ which was to
follow in 1978, these tracks will not be at all familiar, and
for this reviewer, therein lies a large part of the appeal of
this platter. Early, and compared to those on L&D, quite raw
versions of Still In Love With You, Suicide, Rosalie, and The
Rocker all follow and are different enough to be added to your
collection, especially Rosalie, which has a touch of noodling
at the end, and the embryonic Cowboy Song [here called Derby
Blues] which was later to be cut down and polished.
I have
enjoyed UK Tour 75 more than any other album I have discovered
for many a year. This disc will be a success, a compliment to
L&D and a must for all metal fans. |
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This Is Black Metal DVD
(MVD Visual)
By: Dave Schalek |
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MVD Visual teams up with Satanica Magica and Cleopatra Records
to release a mish-mash of videos and interview clips conducted
by porno actress/ faux journalist Jasmin St. Claire in the
form of a “documentary” called “This Is Black Metal”. “This Is
Black Metal” consists of professionally shot videos that were
originally produced for other projects (such as releases for
video music channels, band-released DVDs, etc) that were then
cobbled together with absolutely inane interviews conducted by
Jasmin St. Claire.
First of all, many fans will probably take issue with the band
list that appears on this DVD as many aren’t considered black
metal. You decide: Celtic Frost, Throes of Dawn, Venom,
Emperor, Astarte, Morbid Angel, Satyricon, Borknagar, and the
requisite Cradle of Filth. Not every band is given music video
treatment, nor is every band afforded an interview. In
addition, the overall content of the DVD is pretty cheesy.
Minus the |
professionally produced music videos, the production values of
the remaining features vary from professional to amateurish
with shots out of focus, camera positions that jerk awkwardly
from one person to another, poor lighting, etc. In the days of
slick metal films such as Sam Dunn’s work and “Heavy Metal In
Baghdad”, the amateurish look of “This Is Black Metal” is
glaring. There’s even a faux black mass in the style of a
grade “D” Italian horror film complete with goofy guys in
robes intoning menacingly, “This Is Black Metal”, a nude
blonde, blood, etc to open the film, and you’re really not
sure if it was all intended with tongue planted firmly in
cheek.
Forget about the music videos; they are what they are and
weren’t originally intended for this release, so why bother.
What are more pertinent to the discussion are the generally
unintentionally hilarious interviews conducted by Ms. St.
Claire. Some of the interviewees try to rise above the
obviously illiterate charms of the bubbly Ms. St. Claire such
as Martin Eric Ain, who attempts to have a serious discussion
about the lyrical content of “Monotheist”. Satyr also tries,
in a soft spoken manner, to delve deeply into the intricacies
of the differences between black and death metal. Others come
off as boors, such as the eternally incoherent Pete Sandoval
and Cronos, who appears to merely continue his rambling
monologue from “The Ultimate Revenge” from 1985.
As a bonus, an atrocious short, actually an excerpt, entitled
“Black Metal Parking Lot (The Movie)”, an obvious send up of
the immortal “Heavy Metal Parking Lot”, is included and
consists of a couple of fan interviews with those standing in
line for a Cradle of Filth show somewhere on Hollywood
Boulevard. Ms. St. Claire herself also gets the treatment with
a look at her contributions in an interview conducted in an
alley somewhere. Here, she briefly describes her views on
politics, family, and metal. You can’t help but laugh, but at
least she’s earnest.
Black metal as a genre, art form, etc is worth a serious look
in documentary form; “This Is Black Metal” is most definitely
not that. It’s easy to dismiss “This Is Black Metal” as
nonsense, and it pretty much is; however, if you’re looking
for a way to kill a few hours with some brain dead
entertainment, you could do worse. Sort of recommended.
http://mvdb2b.com
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Walls Of Jericho - The American Dream (Trustkill) Review by Steve
Green |
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My first encounter with Walls Of Jericho was with their stripped back
Redemption EP earlier in the year. Having been won over by their beautiful
melodic prose, I was left wondering as to whether I'd like the full-on,
plugged in version of the band. Well I didn't have to wait long to find
out.
Despite any reservations I may have had before playing this cd, I have to
admit that I really do like Walls Of Jericho in full flight. This is an
almighty collision between Hardcore and Thrash Metal, with a female singer
that could give 90% of her male counterparts a run for their money. This
lady can growl with the best of them, and boy can she deliver her lyrics
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with a lethal dose of venom. At times, mainly because of the
hate filled vocals, I'm reminded of a female fronted version
of Pantera, particularly on A Long Walk Home, while at other
times, I'm simply blown away by the all out war of Famous Last
Words and the utter contempt displayed on Fuck The American
Dream.
On a day that Lehman Brothers have gone into administration, "Fuck The
American Dream" never sounded so relevant. I've never been one for
standing up for my country and all of that patriotic bullshit. But then
again, we have Gordon Brown, a country full of work-shy spongers who feed
off of our government's stupidity and thousands of illiterate chavs who
seem to breed at the drop of a baseball cap, so there's not a lot a lot to
be proud of in this shithole of a country. Ease your depression at:
www.myspace.com/wallsofjericho |
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Xtrunk - Not In Vain
(Manitou Music) Review by Nathan Ward |
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Xtrunk are a French metal band, who play a similar style of
metal to Soilwork and In Flames, but there are hints of other
styles of metal on the album.
The album is full of fast and aggressive riffs, guitar
harmonies, the odd solo here and there, thunderous drums and
powerful bass. The vocals are a mix of growls and clean. The
growling vocals have an element of Phil Anselmo and at times
Corey Taylor and the clean vocals remind me of Layne Staley.
As I said there are hints of other styles of metal throughout
the album, some songs have a more thrash feel to the riffs and
some of the lead work has a heavy/thrash feel to them, each of
these influences work well with the style of music Xtrunk
play. The |
production on the album is really good; all the instruments
can be heard clearly. This is something I keep finding with
European releases.
‘Not In Vain’ is a really good album, full of riffs and
melodies that keep you listening. From the album I’d say
‘Desire’ and ‘Scream As Loud As You Can’ are my favourite
tracks, because they have a good mix of all the elements in
the album; the aggressive riffs, melodies and the mixed
vocals. So if you like bands such as In Flames and Soilwork,
give ‘Not In Vain’ a try.
www.myspace.com/xtrunk
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