|
|
|
|
|
Celestial Bloodshed - Cursed, Scarred, and Forever
Possessed (Moribund Cult)
By: Dave Schalek |
 |
Trondheim’s Celestial Bloodshed reside firmly in what Crin has
termed the third wave of Norwegian black metal; that is, no
frills, raw, atmospheric black metal that, although not
entirely original, soldiers on with the raw patented sound of
the movement from the ‘90s. The debut full-length from
Celestial Bloodshed, “Cursed, Scarred, and Forever Possessed”,
is jointly released by Debemur Morti Productions and Moribund
Cult Records.
There’s nothing very original about Celestial Bloodshed that
hasn’t already been done multiple times over, but the band
treads the well-proven ground of the genre with flair. |
Take the usual influences from early ‘90s Norwegian black
metal; that is, Gorgoroth, Burzum, and so on, pile on the atmosphere,
add frenetic riffs with a thin production, all out blasts with
a few mid-paced tempos, and deep seated, growled vocals as
opposed to rasps that are surprisingly understandable (in
English), and that pretty much sums up Celestial Bloodshed.
Before you dismiss the band as a mere clone, however, I would
note that the band fires on all cylinders and expertly hits
all of the signature elements of the genre. Excellent
songwriting that is very catchy besides being a brutal
assault, quality musicianship, and an eternally cold
atmosphere combine to make “Cursed, Scarred, and Forever
Possessed” a standout of the genre that should be on
everyone’s “to get” list.
I must say that I found “Cursed, Scarred, and Forever
Possessed” to be somewhat refreshing. Believe me, I’m all for
bands such as Nachtmystium, Wolves In The Throne Room, and so
forth pushing the boundaries of black metal into heretofore
unknown territories, but every once in awhile, you really just
want to hear some high quality traditional Norwegian black
metal from a talented newcomer. That’s exactly what is
presented to us here with Celestial Bloodshed. Buy or fucking
die.
www.moribundcult.com
| http://home.no/mittrike
| www.debemur-morti.com
|
| |
|
Coerced Into Battle - Enemy Mine
(Rising Records) Review by
Ellis Woolley |
 |
This transient sub-genre of 'metalcore' or what you will is
proving to be a strange one as band after band, mainly from
the States, have appeared from nowhere to be signed up on some
big name labels presumably based on their musical similarities
to well-known Swedish bands, whilst more often than not
bringing nothing new to the Metal round table. California's
Coerced Into Battle ultimately fall into this quagmire with
their debut album 'Enemy Mine' which, like a lot of what I
hear these days is not bad per se, but contains nothing that
would find heavy rotation in my speakers once this review has
been written. The Coerced Into Battle style consists of
down-tuned chuggy riffage of the style |
procreated by Pantera but never bettered, though to CIB's credit the production of
'Enemy Mine' has provided said riffs with such substantial
audible weight that the band should earn respect amongst the
fraternities who aren't so interested in musical uniquity and
just want to swing their arms around in the pit. Few of the
riffs throughout 'Enemy Mine's 10 cuts move beyond merely
being heavy but some brighter moments can be found in the
rhythm melodies of 'Erase The Mind', ‘The Addictions Dirge
Part 1’ and 'Cursed With Love' where the impetus is biased
towards creating some kind of feeling other than just heavy, angry
music for heavy, angry music's sake.
I'm sure the collective hearts of Coerced Into Battle are in
the right places and that significant time and effort has gone
into the making of 'Enemy Mine' but if their intentions lie in
becoming a musical force to be reckoned with there is plenty
to be done. 'Enemy Mine' is inevitably just a solid metal
album full of chunky metal riffs but songs like 'The
Addictions Dirge Part 1’ show CIB can do more than just sound
neurotically pissed off all the time. The unwarranted success
of plastic-metallers Bring Me The Horizon suggests that CIB
could still well make it.
www.myspace.com/coercedintobattle1 |
| |
|
Dimension Zero - He Who Shall Not Bleed
(Vic Records) review
by Sam Thomas |
 |
“He who shall not Bleed” is the third full length production
from Dimension Zero, best known for being formed by the (then)
In Flames guitarists. Fast forward twelve years, and, in true
Scandinavian fashion, only Jesper Strömblad remains, alongside
a crew who all (inevitably) crop up elsewhere. In England we
have the Freemasons. In Sweden they have metal bands. Both
strange organisations, misunderstood by outsiders but with
members everywhere…
Not surprisingly, “He who shall…” is very much Gothenburg
metal, and in fact, is so reminiscent of early In Flames that
it’s kind of hard to hear anything else at times. The |
“Clayman” influence is so marked that it’s a huge pointer to
how much input Jesper has into the style of both bands. Fourth
track, “Hell is Within”, could quite easily have appeared on “Clayman”,
the structure is so similar, and perhaps that’s the best thing
about the album. It is somewhat more aggressive than In
Flames’ works, but I’d be surprised if anything else was the
case when you’ve got guys from Soilwork and Marduk joining the
party.
The downside to this album is, unfortunately, that it’s all
pretty similar. There’s nothing that really grabs you with it
– OK there are a few nice spoken parts, but remove them and
the tracks are pretty much the same. It’s like homogenised
milk, really, there’s nothing wrong with it, but when I was a
kid I really used to enjoy trying to pour the cream off a
bottle of silver-top. Especially if it meant my brothers
didn’t get it… Here, you get eleven tracks in thirty something
minutes, but they all merge into one another to an extent.
Having said that, the overall standard is, as you would
expect, pretty damn good. But…
In summary, then, if you like early In Flames, you’ll probably
think this is a good release. If, however, you preferred Dark
Tranquillity, you might find this a bit boring. More than
competent, but not a stunning original.
www.vicrecords.com |
| |
|
Evisorax - Enclave
(Anticulture) Review by James Young |
 |
Evisorax sure talks the talk - their biography makes them out
to be the saviours of grind and death metal, insulting
Cryptopsy’s new direction and those who wear ‘shrunken grind
t-shirts’ with their ‘obstructive sweeps’. With such fighting
talk, one may raise an eyebrow when they compare themselves to
the likes of Suicide Silence and See You Next Tuesday. Yes,
there is an element of deathcore in here, and present are a
few of the influences that seem to be making death metal
appear more generic these days - silly breakdowns and burped
vocals that don’t do anything for the music. That said, this
band do have some things going for them, with some breakneck
blasts courtesy of drummer Keith, which |
speed past the listener frenetically. The intense production
is extreme enough to take your face off, reminding one of
Origin and Napalm Death. Pete’s vocals seem to squeal in time
with the guitars in some places to interesting effect, such as
in ‘Scalp The Demons’, creating a feeling of the band as a
well-oiled machine. The problem with this demo is that the
lack of variation in the guitar riffs (and vocal delivery,
although this is to be expected in such an extreme band)
allows each song to be separated into two parts - the insanely
fast passages and the grindingly slow breakdowns. Even when
fast blasting is replaced by headbangingly good double bass
drumming, nothing seems to progress at all, and whether the
song is one or five minutes, you’re left unmoved by the end of
each song.
With the lack of stand-out moments in the four songs on this
demo, it’s hard to recommend it to anyone other than the
extremists who don’t mind a lack of variation. The addition of
deathcore elements do absolutely nothing to enhance the
grinding death metal which forms the majority of this release,
and if an album does eventually surface, it will take more
than just empty words to prove that these guys can cut the
mustard.
www.myspace.com/evisorax |
www.anticulture.co.uk
|
| |
|
Head On Collision - Ritual Sacrifice
(Beer City Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
 |
Words can barely begin to describe how utterly pedestrian and
generic the debut full-length from St. Louis’ Head On
Collision really is. Entitled “Ritual Sacrifice” and released
on the immortal Beer City Records, this album blatantly steals
every trick in Destruction’s playbook and regurgitates it back
at you while distilled through thoroughly shoddy musicianship,
poor songwriting, and a lousy production to boot.
Obviously jumping onto the retro-thrash bandwagon, Head On
Collision sound as if they’ve just stepped out of a marathon
session of listening to the original ”Sentence of Death” EP by
Destruction while, at the same time, learning how to play
their instruments, |
and not very well at that. Generic riffs, the same galloping
pace throughout, shouted vocals, and sloppy playing abound on
“Ritual Sacrifice”, so much so that you end up repeatedly
hitting the skip button because you’ve heard all of this
before over the last 25 years or so, and done much better.
Other than that, there’s not much else to say. I’ve spent some
time dissecting the retro-thrash movement in reviews and I
won’t bother repeating myself here, but, suffice to say, Head
On Collision won’t last very long. I want my half hour back.
Yawn.
www.myspace.com/headoncollisionmetal
| www.beercityrecords.com
|
| |
|
Helstar - Sins Of The Past
(Locomotive) Review by Metal Mark |
 |
Texas based Helstar were crafting their no nonsense power/epic
metal back in the 80’s when it was still just “metal” as there
were not as many labels for genres and sub-genres back then. I
remember first hearing them in 1986, I believe and just really
enjoying their straight ahead stance and the way tore right
into their music. Like a number of other veteran acts in
recent years they decided to take some of their favorite
tracks from the past and re-record them. Helstar were always
from the Judas Priest/Iron Maiden school of metal with a
rather mid-tempo approach with a fair amount of attention to
the heaviness level and even a bit more groove than some other
bands. They began to stir in a few more |
|
faster parts towards the end of the decade though. The
re-recordings presented here are overall rather respectful as
they don’t take a lot of liberties, but instead remain
relatively true to the original versions. The only major
difference is really that the production is of course far
stronger and more consistent. If I had one complaint about Helstar’s earlier releases it was the
dated, slightly dull production that was typical of a lot of
independent metal acts during the 1980’s.There are also two
brand new tracks included on this sort of best of package. The
new tracks are very much in keeping with Helstar’s already
established style and will help whet you appetite for their
upcoming studio release. |
| |
|
Lord Belial - The Black Curse
(Regain Records) Review by Crin |
 |
This band only had an album (Revelation) out last year and I
was apprehensive about hearing this rather quick on the heels
follow up. This is album number 8, and considering this
Swedish act formed in 1992, the credentials of what this band
are about are without question. Like fellow Swedes Dark
Funeral, this band have a solid foundation and back catalogue
that makes impressive viewing.
The album leaps into life though the synthetic drum sound of Pazuzu
- Lord of Fevers and Plague, and there is an almost programmed
feel to the music, a futuristic production that lifts the
primordial anger from its crass levels and maintains a fluid,
post Black Metal |
|
sound. The colourful cover reflects the colourful music
within, as this is far from the ruthless origins of the band,
rather a progression into more sustainable contemporary Black
Metal displayed by the likes of Keep of Kalessin. The album
really ignites its musical genius on track three, simply
titled, Sworn. Here we have a perfect example of atmospheric
symphonic Black Metal free from the confines of orthodoxy and
wonderfully brazen with its lush arrangements. So, here we
discover a fluent, polished album that is neither
exceptionally bad nor exceptionally good. Just middle of the
road harmless fun, to put it in a nutshell.
www.regainrecords.com |
| |
|
Memory Garden - Carnage
Carnival (Vic Records)
Review By Strawb |
 |
Initially I found it difficult to pin down exactly what it was
that I liked about this platter and why it stood out as better
than similar submissions I have reviewed recently. It can be
that different things just appeal to some of us in different
ways, but it seemed something more than that. At the forefront
of the factors must be the professionalism on display here.
From a memorable cover to the actual content of the CD, M.G.
tick many boxes. And it does say that the first pressing will
come with a bonus DVD – it wasn’t included, so I can’t
comment, but I feel it will only enhance your pleasures.
M.G. have been on the music scene since 1992 and had released
three albums previous to |
|
this one, the last being in 2000. A number of singles and EPs
have bridged this gap. The five members categorise themselves
as Swedish melodic doom metallers, so a lot of areas to cover there, then. And they
do, nothing else, just what it says on the tin. The title
track is the opener, and it begins with a bit of plinky plinky
before forceful instrumentation and the arrival of an
excellent metal voice. Balls-out riffs, good
interchanges, excellent individual standards, this is a
standard setter for what is to follow. By Dominio, a slower
track, we are opening with a bit of radio type sound, and the
following Endless Fear opens with the volume building up from
nothing, I presume by use of a fader? And so It continues for
the whole ten tracks, each different from the others but the
standards maintained throughout, and I was left wishing there
were even more tracks, plainly and simply because I like it
and it will be kept near to my audio equipment for more
playing.
On the web at
http://memorygarden.net
|
| |
|
Nils Lofgren - The Loner : Nils Sings Neil
(Vision Music) Review by Steve
Green |
 |
I think this is a very brave album to make. Nils Lofgren, stripped down to
guitar, piano and vocals, performing some of Neil Young's greatest ever
songs (plus a couple of lesser ones in my opinion). And bar The Mission
successfully covering Like A Hurricane about 20 years ago, has anyone ever
come close to capturing the unique sound of Neil Young? Well if anyone
should have a go at it, then it should be Nils Lofgren, who first played
with Young on his After The Goldrush album in 1970.
As with all tribute albums, there will be songs you like and others, well,
that just don't cut it. And there's also the difficult task of getting
your head around the fact that Neil Young |
isn't singing on these songs. Mr Lofgren does a very good job
and I honestly feel he is the only performer, bar Neil Young,
that can do these songs justice.
Best of the bunch for me, is Only Love Can Break Your Heart, which is just
vocals and piano and this gives the song a wonderfully melancholic feel.
Coming a close second is a brilliant rendition of The Loner, which sees
Nils excel as a guitarist, as well as a singer. Other songs that are
worthy of a mention, are mainly those that work well in a stripped down
format. Harvest Moon, Like A Hurricane, I Am A Child and a cool as hell,
Mr Soul.
There are only a few songs that I don't think work well on this album, and
despite some mighty fine six string action, World On A String is still
very hard going, as are Flying On The Ground and Winterlong. Thankfully
though, the blips are few and far between. Overall, this is a very
interesting release for all Neil Young fans.
www.nilslofgren.com |
| |
|
PTSD - Burepolom (My Kingdom Music) Review by Steve
Green |
 |
It seems as if nothing is sacred in Italy. The thing I've noticed over the
past few years is that Italian bands like to merge a lot of different
styles together. Here we have PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, who like to
mix the more melancholic side of Metal, think Katatonia, with more a
bouncy, jump around with baggy trousers "core" type thing. On paper, it
sounds like an horrendous idea, but in execution, the result is much
better than expected.
The one thing, or maybe two things, that really help PTSD are Henry Guy's
wonderfully solemn vocals and the sense of melody that's built around his
vocals. This is the centre of
|
PTSD's universe and it serves them
well and it also allows the other, extra curricular add-ons, to fit in
almost seamlessly. Where this album threatens to fall apart is when the
band completely change style. The start of Neurotted is utter shite and
bears no relation to the previous sounds created by PTSD. Were it not for
the melodious chorus, then I would not have realised that I was still
listening to the same band. Thankfully, other excursions into rougher seas
are handled a little better, particularly on the title track, which
manages to pack an industrial sized punch, while still keeping complete
control of the melody.
I'm still not sure why PTSD felt the need to incorporate different sounds
into their own brand of melancholy as I personally don't think there is
any need for it. But they are the ones that made the album, not me. So I
can recommend checking them out, just be careful for the occasional
deviation from the norm. www.p-tsd.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
