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| Akrival - Vitriolic
(Pictonian Records) Review by Crin |
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Germanic Black meets melodic Death Metal, a kind of Abigor
meets Atheist in a blender.
This band have been honing their brand of extreme art for 14
years, and here is the second album in all its dripping riff
bile. From the first track, Vitriolic Circles, you will be
cast into a technical maelstrom of intricate thrash that
splinters into a Gothenburg Deathly rage coupled with a
Blackened fury. The initial leanings towards the furious head
hammering of Marduk are soon dispersed by some intricate
guitar sections
The melodic arrangements are woven tighter than a Goths bodice
[and they are usually very large] and are deployed here in
frightening layers of speed and density. Think of a |
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more blackened At the Gates melting into an early In Flames
peppered with Dark Funeral. Now that’s what this band are all
about, fast, uplifting songs with a feelgood factor and an
easy fluidity to the general delivery. There is a complex
infrastructure to the material, and yet you are never
challenged with the unfathomable. Here, we get the raw yoke of
oozing extremity warmed by some finely tuned guitaring and
competent song compositions. Not bad at all.
http://pictonian.records.free.fr/ |
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| Apostle of Solitude -
Sincerest Misery (Eyes Like Snow) Review by
Chris Davison |
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Doom may be the cruellest of all metals many genres. You see,
if you're, for instance, a thrash band, it's relatively easy
to be a mediocre band. You string together some old Exodus and
Slayer riffs, pull funny faces and get signed by Earache. You
want to be a death metal band? Simply play Morbid Angel riffs
at slightly different speeds, chuck a horror film sample or
two into the mix and play three festivals a summer. Doom
though? Hell, if you want to be mentioned with the big guys,
you've just got to be good. You have to feel it, in your
bones. You can't fake it. You might be able to cock an ironic
grin with thrash, or put the make up on with Black Metal, but
you can't feign misery convincingly. |
You can't fake adoration of the sacred riff; if you try,
everyone will see through your facade. Doom is pure heavy
metal, unfiltered by trend or fashion.
Apostle of Solitude don't fake anything. This is 100% proof,
intoxicating heavy metal that makes heads nod and horns rise.
From Indianapolis, USA, this four piece have come to play
metal in the old style, in the fashion of the old classics of
the genre. I like my doom like I like my women; slow,
miserable and classy. At the altar of this epic, powerful
metal, the riff is king and atmosphere is the crown prince.
Sincerest Misery is the debut album of this outfit, and it's
really a breathtaking entry that catapults them to the top of
their game, and I would place them alongside fellow Americans
The Gates of Slumber, though this is a much doomier and darker
album than their compatriots last release. I was frequently
reminded of the atmosphere (and heavy riffing) of the
much-loved dormant British seminal outfit, Solstice in sound.
From the sprawling, epic nature of the tracks (eight minute
track “Confess” is a case in point), down to the clear,
soulful singing of Chuck Brown, this screams “genre classic”
into your ear. From close range. Without warning.
Somewhere along the line, extreme metal lost the plot, and in
disposing of anything related to good, classic heavy metal, it
threw the baby out with the bath water. “Sincerest Misery”
traces an unbroken route from Black Sabbath, through classic
Judas Priest and then out via earliest Iron Maiden, while all
the while retaining that slow tempo, unhurried devotion to
misery and solitude. The drums are in the best traditions of
classic doom; played simply but effectively, while the bass
work is adept and much higher in the mix than many other
modern albums. The production gives the bass a wonderful warm,
analogue feel, while the guitars have more crunch than a late
night teleshopping channel abdominal exerciser. The lead work,
when it occurs, is ornate and neo-classical in feel, rather
than relying on the tired tradition of simple blues scales,
which helps reinforce the huge, epic sound of the music here.
Chuck Brown has a great voice, carrying the melody and drama
of these leviathan tracks. Heavier than a sledgehammer blow to
the back of the cranium (witness the merciless bludgeoning
four minutes into the unbelievably heavy “Last Tears” as
evidence), this is a serious, jaw-dropping release. File under
“essential”.
www.northern-silence.de/eye.htm |
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Arckanum - Antikosmos
(Moribund Cult) By: Dave Schalek |
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Moribund Cult Records and Debemur Morti Productions team up once again to
bring us the latest full-length from Arckanum. A Swedish project
consisting solely of one Shamaatae, Arckanum’s lyrical content
concentrates upon Shamaatae’s 1970s-born religion of choice. At any rate,
“Antikosmos”, not to be confused with a two-song EP released earlier this
year with the same title, is Arckanum’s fourth full-length overall and
first in ten years (numerous splits and EPs have appeared in the interim).
Previous full-length efforts from Arckanum have always been catchy black
metal tending towards the raw side of the genre, and compare favorably to
fellow Swedes Svartsyn (not |
surprising, given that Arckanum and Svartsyn
have appeared together on a previous split), albeit with a less frenetic
pace. “Antikosmos” continues that trend with some excellent, catchy songs
that vary from all out raw, sharp edged blasts with memorable riffs and
chord progressions, to slower, crunch-laden efforts with solid riffs that
succeed with the obvious intention to flatten the listener.
There are a few moments where “Antikosmos” doesn’t work very well, though.
There are a few passages of spoken word and other ambient driven
soundscapes that go on a bit too long and detract somewhat from the
excellent songwriting that appears throughout the remainder of “Antikosmos”.
These passages do begin to bite into an already short album at 37 minutes
long, and I would have much rather preferred to be given one more
full-fledged song instead. This is a minor point of criticism, however, as
the rest of “Antikosmos” fires on all cylinders. Highly recommended.
www.arckanum.se |
www.moribundcult.com |
www.debemur-morti.com |
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Dear Superstar -
Heartless (DR2/Demolition) Review by Steve Green |
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Dear Superstar need a serious personality overhaul. On one hand they are
quite glammy or the other hand they veer towards the kiddie brigade ala
Bullet and AX7. One side of their sound is actually very good, the
other...
Well I nearly threw this in the reject pile upon hearing opening track
Brink of Destruction for the first time. Actually, change that to
listening to part of the first track... This song is so awful that I've
never managed to play it the whole way through. The vocals are so dire and
with the lack of depth in the song writing department, I have no idea how
this band ever got a deal. Skip forward to song two and what you get to
hear is infinitely better. Sassy, |
rocking glam that is full of cool guitar licks and a Hanoi
Rocks style chorus and I'm dumbstruck to discover that this is
actually the same band. Unfortunately, this is how this album
pans out. A crap song, a good song, a crap song etc... with
the glammier side of Dear Superstar being very good, and the
emo shit, well, being just that.
I've no idea why this band have such a split personality, but
trust me, it doesn't work. I've now pressed the eject on my cd
player and this particular disc will never venture near it
again.
www.myspace.com/dearsuperstar |
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Deathonate - Walk The
Line (Self Release) Review by Steve
Green |
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Deathonate are a melodic Death metal band from Holland. Amongst the bands
combined cd collection, I'm sure there's a Children of Bodom cd (or
twelve) to be found. And I'm sure there are a lot of widdly keyboard
dominated cds in keyboard player Klaus' collection. Put those two
influences together, and you have the majority of Deathonate's sound. The
Bodom sounding stuff is ok, but at times, it just sails a bit close to the
wind. The bit I don't get are some of the keyboard parts. Klaus is
obviously a very talented musician, I'm just not sure if his dynamic work
fits in with the rest of the band. It's kind of like Jean Michel Jarre
joining Napalm Death. The two styles are simply poles apart. His |
epic keys would be more suited to someone like Rainbow or
Uriah Heep... or even Ayroen. The only time he really fits in
with the rest of the band is on opener Deathrow... Walk The
Line.
With a bit more time spent on creating their own sound, I'm
sure Deathonate can produce something with more originality
and a more even flow. As it stands, they are just going to be
swallowed up in the underground, never to be heard of again. I
just hope they don't waste their obvious talent being Children
of Bodom wannabees.
www.myspace.com/deathonate |
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Detente - History 1
(Cognitive Records/MVD) Review by Metal Mark |
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This disc contains the original four-song demo from Detente plus the demo
from the post-Detente band Catalepsy. The original Detente four-song demo
was recorded in 1985 and it's very much in the thrash genre of the time
yet it's also different as well. So many early thrash bands of the time
just went and blasted forward with their music, but there is a bit more of
a sense of control even on this demo. They would build up parts and then
use blasts of thrash as needed to add to the texture of the whole sound.
Vocalist Dawn Crosby had those searing vocals that could make your hair
stand on end and immediately draw your focus in to her. |
Catalepsy featured the Detente songwriting duo of Steve Hochheiser and
Ross Robinson as well as Machine Head's Dave McClain on drums. Some
critics hailed Catalepsy as one of the first progressive thrash bands and
as the natural evolution of Detente. The sound from Catalepsy is indeed
not terribly far removed from Detente although they definitely take more
risks and stretch things out a bit. Catalepsy are somewhat more refined
and it works on slightly different levels. The song quality is good
enough, but a little fuzzy and low in parts on all of the songs.
The insert is very brief with a family tree type of thing telling where
each member came from and where they went. Since a version of this band is
still around I was actually hoping for some more notes or information on
these recordings because the description from the label has more than the
booklet does. Still a decent collection of demos from two related and
slightly overlooked bands. |
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Into Eternity - The
Incurable Tragedy (Century Media) Review by Mat
Willcocks |
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Having not enjoyed quite the same success as modern metal
groups as Killswitch Engage and Unearth, one has to wonder why
this Canadian progressive bunch of musos are still relatively
unknown. It probably has something to do with being associated
with words such as ‘Progressive’, ‘Muso’ and ‘Canadian’. What
a shame, as IE are such an exciting prospect, displaying such
vigour and inventiveness lacking in the aforementioned acts.
To be treated something way more than a Metalcore band, it
would be fair to say – and I fear being burnt at the stake for
the following comment – that IE figurehead Tim Roth is
possibly the only person brave enough to receive the baton
from the late Chuck |
| Schuldiner. Take a listen to this album
and notice the similarities with the swansong releases from
both Death and Control Denied. A radical statement I know, but
lets praise this group for the twists and turns, the
proficiency and tightness, the melodies and brashness in each
song, except for the acoustic ‘The Incurable Tragedy I’, which
is simply brooding. Even the instrumentals of ‘Symptons’ and
‘The Incurable Tragedy III’ are addictive despite being so
brief in length. It is with regret that I am unable to pick
out any standout tracks, as all are entirely listenable. The
combination of twin leads, double kick-drum overkill, sporadic
growl-falsetto-scream vocals of Stu Block and Spanish guitar
breakouts will ultimately be too difficult a listen to those
who prefer their music a little more ‘standard’. Even the
vocalist has an instructional video on a well-known online
video website. For those wishing for an education in how
wonderfully innovative METAL can be, this comes well
recommended. Well done Century Media for headhunting such a
wonderful group. If you don’t believe me, I challenge you to
listen to this whilst NOT playing your extensive collection of
air instruments whilst doing your next commute/cooking your
tea/cleaning the toilet.
www.centurymedia.com |
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