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Omnium Gatherum - The Red
Shift (Candlelight Records) By: Dave Schalek |
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Melodic death metal is not my favorite genre, but I do pay
some attention from time to time to the bands at the top of
the genre. One of those bands is Omnium Gatherum from Finland.
Awhile back I reviewed the band’s last full-length, “Stuck
Here On Snake’s Way” from early 2007, and gave the album a
positive review for its nice mix of melody and a few touches
of brutality (OK, maybe brutality is too strong of a word). At
any rate, I still do give the album a spin once in a great
while.
Well, “The Red Shift”, the band’s latest full-length, pretty
much leaves me behind as whatever touches of brutality that
may have been present before, however fleeting, are |
now gone. Instead, “The Red Shift” concentrates on mid-paced
progressive touches with plenty of melody, keyboard work,
fluid guitar solos, and typical song structures. All of it
certainly well done; that is, the musicianship and the
production are top notch, the songwriting is generally good for the genre, and so
on, but “The Red Shift” is much more accessible than previous
efforts, and notably lacks any crunch. To classify Omnium
Gatherum as melodic death metal at this point would be a
mistake; instead, “The Red Shift” is essentially melodic,
traditional heavy metal with progressive touches. Only the
rather gruff vocals remain, and now seem somewhat out of place
given the direction of “The Red Shift”.
This shift in direction now puts Omnium Gatherum off of my
radar, probably for good, as I really have no interest in this
genre and, therefore, I’m probably not the best person to
review the album; however, “The Red Shift” is well written and
well played, and would probably be right up the alley of a
number of our readers. To those genre fans, “The Red Shift” is
recommended.
www.omniumgatherum.org |
www.candlelightrecordsusa.com |
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Ramming Speed -
Brainwreck (Teenage Disco Bloodbath Records)
review by James Young |
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Ramming Speed are an appropriately named crossover thrash band
from Boston, and at a time when the thrash genre is
flourishing, it’s easy to overlook such an underground band.
Do this at your peril however, because this is one of the
better acts out there - the band mixes thrash, punk, hardcore,
grind, and even NWOBHM to create a sound which honours their
predecessors without recycling old riffs and ideas. The clean
production and dare I say ‘fun’ vibe you get from this album
strikes one as a more mature Municipal Waste; Pete Gallagher’s
vocals are your standard shouted fare, but the breakneck
drumming and riffs are where this band truly comes into its
own. Jonah Livingstone lays |
waste to his drum kit in true thrash style, with heaps of
attitude, and even blasting when necessary, whilst Ricky Zampa and Kallen Bliss leave their
fret boards smoking with some headbanging hooks and highly
competent solos. Whilst some crossover thrash bands have quite
empty and talentless solos which owe more to the punk scene,
Ramming Speed opt for the more classically influenced route,
which comes across as a mixture of Slayer and Judas Priest.
This album storms by in under half an hour (although it would
take other bands much longer to play), and some of the tracks,
such as the opening duo, ‘Speed Trials’ and ‘The Threat…’ are
similar to S.O.D. in their blistering pace, but such a
comparison would only be telling half the story. Some of the
crustier tracks such as ‘Arrested Development’ incorporate
blast beats and screams which resemble the grinding likes of
Napalm Death. And if you need more convincing, we have the
ridiculously titled ‘Shane Embury Is The Brad Pitt Of
Grindcore’, which pays homage to our very own grindcore
legend, fusing guttural grunts and screams with some
skull-crushing riffs, and staying loyal to the genre by
clocking in at less than a minute. Other songs such as ‘Lazer
Assault’ and ‘Man Vs. Machine’ sound like Saxon on speed,
whereas the five minute closer ‘Heavy Metal Thunder’ lives up
to its name with some true NWOBHM riffs.
It’s one hell of an accomplishment for a band to remain loyal
to so many genres whilst forging a unique sound throughout. It
only remains for you to don your denim jacket, get this album,
crank it up all the way, and rock out until you see double.
Say hello to Ramming Speed and goodbye to your brain cells!
www.myspace.com/rammingspeedofficial |
www.tbdrecords.com |
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Randy Piper's Animal -
Virus (Locomotive)
Review by Metal Mark |
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Former WASP guitarist Randy Piper returns with his band's
latest album which was produced by the band's other guitarist
Chris Laney. As the opener "Cardiac Arrest" comes barrelling
on it's easy to see that Piper is still sticking to a similar
style that WASP used way back in their early days. In fact a
good portion of "Virus" contains a similar sound to "The Last
Command" album and that is just fine with me. Vocalist Rich
Lewis reminds me of a cross between Blackie Lawless and Ronnie
James Dio. Some of the more mid-paced songs also show a Dio
influence in the music with a sound reminiscent of the "Sacred
Heart" album. The biggest surprise here might be their
decision to cover "Zombie" by the |
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Cranberries. However they handle the challenge very well and
transform into a solid metal tune. To my ears the major
difference between Piper's current band and WASP is that
Animal use melodies more often and this approach certainly
helps a great deal. The writing and playing are extremely
tight and focused throughout the ten tracks on the album. The
band takes a very direct approach as they charge into many of
their songs. This album reminds me of an album that could have
been done in the mid to late 1980's although that's certainly
not to say that it is dated. Actually it's a solid slice of
80's style metal that comes during a year that is lacking
those kind of albums. Good to see Randy Piper and his band
hitting their stride and this disc will be getting a lot of
spins in my player during the upcoming weeks.
www.myspace.com/randypipersanimal |
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Skullshifter - Inner
Demons (BFD Records) Review by Ellis Woolley |
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Points to instantly reflect upon with Skullshifter's debut
album "Inner Demons": Skullshifter is a cool, metal sounding
band name and as such I'm surprised it had not already been
bagged; and that creating album covers that tie in with the
exact title of said album is usually a bad idea, as
evidenced here. My research into Skullshifter before this
review indicated that both guitarists have been going in metal
bands since the mid-80s and though having never made it, I was
convinced from that I would hear something less contrived than
this. Okay I have definitely heard much, much worse but at the
conclusion of "Inner Demons"' 45 minutes you are left
scratching your head in the act of trying to remember any |
truly memorable riffs. The anger reflected upon in the lyrics
and label's blurb rarely seems terribly genuine, a fact bad
enough by itself without the added problem of a production so
flat and lifeless that someone holding a key role in the
creation of "Inner Demons" must actually have died in the
process, with no bothering to finish off his job.
The modern Slayer-ness to "The New Conspiracy" is pertinently
mild and emphatic of the album as a whole, featuring as it
does a number of riffs bodged together with the accompaniment
of standard thrash vocals and some frankly unappetising tempos
for an album that is in the end meant to be thrash. Special
mention must go to the transition from the introduction
element of opener "Exploiter" where Candlemass-ian levels of
grandeur suggest a brilliant epic in the making before the
worst riff change in metal history kicks in to the
non-descript thrash that is to take you to the albums
conclusion. To be fair to Skullshifter, song structures in the
likes of "Breaking Point" offer potential of a band that could
become more unique with time, but given my aforementioned
research, Skullshifter ain't no 18-year old pups, and so quite
how much they'll have of it is open to question. More for
those who like 'local' bands, but from outside their local
area.
www.skullshifter.com |
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Stigma - New York Blood (I Scream Records) Review by Steve Green |
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Not to be confused with any other band with the same name, this Stigma is
hardcore legend Vinny Stigma, guitarist for Agnostic Front, and this is
his debut solo album.
As expected, this has a very autobiographical feel to it, especially on
opening number NY Blood. And what a fine way to open your account. Catchy
as hell, this one will have you singing the chorus long after you last
played it, as this one sticks in your head for days. And this fine opening
number sets the benchmark for the majority of the album. The slower
numbers took a while to work their magic on me, but for the most part,
this is first class punk edged hardcore that's just perfect to shout/sing
along with. And if you decide to |
indulge
yourself then you'll be singing along with very good company
as Jamey Jasta, who also co-produces the album,
lends his vocal chords to the gang shouts. And there will be plenty of
opportunities to stretch your vocal chords as New York Blood is crammed
full of anthems.
I'm not the words biggest Hardcore fan, but when it's old school, then 9
times out of 10 I'll enjoy it. This album is full of rabble rousing
anthems that are near on impossible not to enjoy. So even if you've only a
passing interest in this type of music, then there's a good chance that
you'll really enjoy this album.
www.myspace.com/vinnystigma |
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Sylosis - Conclusion Of An Age
(Nuclear Blast) Review by Chris Davison |
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Aaaaaaaaaargh! Fucking hell. It was going so well. They'd started out
heavy enough, then I could hear the onset of the widdly-widdly guitars.
“That sounds a bit At The Gates”, thought I, “but so far so good”. Then
the onset of a breakdown loomed on the horizon like a bloody huge
thunderstorm, but this thunderstorm did not carry rain, oh no. It carried
derivative chunks of metalcore flavoured shite. With a hefty “crack”,
clean vocals that bring to mind the worst portions of the Killswitch
Engage American oeuvre finally rendered the cloud in twain, and lo, did
the chunks of harmony addicted excretia rain down upon my poor ears. Oh
dear. |
See, it's all my own fault. I actually asked to review this as I had heard
some good things about them from perfect strangers while completelyy drunk
out of my tiny swede during this years summer festival experience.
“Sylosis are the shit” said Sweaty McBeard in his Pantera T-Shirt. In that
hazy, beer fuelled spirit of metal fraternity, I guess I may have misheard
him. Sylosis are not “the” shit. They're a perfectly average metalcore
band. The infuriating thing is that I wanted to like them so much. They
have some great components – the production, for example, is beefier than
a carvery at Bernies, but alas the “twiddle-biddle / twiddle-diddle”
guitar melodies are cheesier than spending a fortnight in Cathedral city.
Clean vocals, particularly in chugga-chugga choral sections make me want
to punch the nearest floppy fringer scene-hopping fuck-tard squarely in
the throat, but c'mon guys, please. Why? For the love of God why?
You may be able to detect some of my frustration, and I'm sure for some of
our readership, (though probably not the vast majority), the -core
friendly tunes, thought un-provoking music and cliché ridden mediocrity
might inspire them to punch the air and sing along while wearing a vintage
Maiden T-shirt (ironically). For the rest of us though, avoid – like the
mother of all fucking plagues.
www.nuclearblast.de |
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Tank - Power of the
Hunter (Metal Mind)
Review by Metal Mark |
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The legendary New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a movement
saw a huge amount of bands pouring out around the same time.
The results were generally great for fans because they had so
many delightful and thrilling new sounds emerging all at once.
So there were lots of choices and really a lot of material and
ideas to try and soak in. Unfortunately for many of the bands
there would ultimately be room for only a few of these bands
to go on to greener pastures. So that meant that a number
bands never received the accolades that they had hoped for.
Tank would fall in this category as they had the firepower and
the grit right from the start. "Power of the Hunter" is their
sophomore release and it was actually |
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released the same year as their debut "Filth Hounds from
Hades". Tank were often compared to Motorhead and that is a fairly safe comparison. I
would say pre-"Ace of spades" Motorhead would be more accurate
as Tank are as much rough as they are heavy. On this album I
also hear some early Kiss as well, I think it's the raw sound
and how each riff is punctuated that has me drawing that
comparison. Tank also had strong groove going in the early
days and that's apparent on tracks like "Walking barefoot over
glass" and "Pure Hatred". The production is rough and I am
sure that their sound actually benefits from the slightly
fuzzy sound as it gives them a certain edge. I think this is
certainly one of their better albums because the attitude and
the focus is still very much intact. Metal Mind's re-issue
includes three bonus tracks and a lyric booklet. It had been a
long time since I last heard this album. I would not say that
I could listen to every week, but Tank certainly made their
contribution to the NWOBHM scene. |
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Various Artists - Anthrosphere Volume 1 (Anthropic
Records) Review by Steve Green |
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I suppose the amount of free material legally available on the internet
has largely left the good old compilation redundant. Personally, being
just ever so slightly old school, I'm a big fan of the format. But having
released a couple of them myself, I would say that.
Anyway, this little beauty is a six track affair from the USA and deals,
mainly, with the more progressive side of Death and Black. First up are
the technical delights of Sil Veth, who hail from Philadelphia. Mixing
Black Metal vocals with an expansive, but very fluid brand of Progressive
Metal, these guys are definitely worth investigating further. Cranking it
up a few notches is the blasting Death of Lethean, who are also partial to
the more
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technical side of Metal. This type of Metal isn't really my
bag, but I can still appreciate the technical brilliance of
these guys.
Falling somewhere between the first two bands are the imaginatively titled
The Green Evening Requiem. I'm kind of at a loss of how to describe these
guys as they sit right in the middle of so many styles. Be it stoner or
progressive or whatever, all you need to know is that it's yet another
storming track with bags of energy and a frantic, but cool as shit, rhythm
section. Taking the compilation hurtling towards the abyss are the
blackened tones of Woe, who've recently been reviewed by our Black Metal
master Crin. He loved them and I love 'em too.
Bucking the trend completely are the groovy drawn out stylings of
Monolith. It's a six minute plus untitled instrumental that is great to
chill-out to, and it sets you up nicely for the infinitely busier
Bereavement, who end the album. I reviewed them last year and they are
certainly a quality outfit. If you like you Metal melodic and progressive,
then these are your guys.
It's a shame that there are only 6 tracks on here as it's a cracking
little compilation. But at least you are getting 6 quality bands. Track
this one down via:
www.myspace.com/anthropicrecords
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Warhammer - Re-issues
(Metal Mind Productions/ MVD Audio) By: Dave Schalek |
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The best Hellhammer clone band in the world (yeah, there are a few
floating around) is, without a doubt, Germany’s Warhammer. Taking
Hellhammer’s template of primitive, proto- death metal and just
shamelessly running with it as far as they could, Warhammer released four
proper full-lengths between 1997 and 2002. In fact, Warhammer’s whole
reason for existence was to do nothing more than clone the Hellhammer
sound as closely as they could, increasingly getting better at it as time
wore on. It’s almost as if you’re listening to a Hellhammer-inspired
version of the Mark Wahlberg film “Rock Star” as Wahlberg’s character
fanatically tries to recreate Steel Dragon’s sound, with no original
elements whatsoever.
At any rate, regardless of your opinion of the validity of such an
exercise, Warhammer do their shtick pretty damn well as their albums,
especially the latter three, sound exactly like Hellhammer, albeit with
much better musicianship, songwriting, and even production; that is, “The
Doom Messiah”, “Deathchrist”, and “Curse of the Absolute Eclipse” are
probably exactly what Warrior et al would’ve done had they continued as
Hellhammer, rather than starting from scratch as Celtic Frost (and the
rest is history, as they say).
If you’ve missed out on all the fun, now’s your chance to get caught up as
the geniuses at Metal Mind Productions and MVD Audio have taken it upon
themselves to re-issue those three albums, as well as the follow-up best
of/ compilation “Towards the Chapter of Chaos” in all their glory as
gold-pressed CDs in a digipack format. Containing great artwork, full
liner notes, and lyrics, each CD is of high quality, but, strangely
enough, is somewhat lacking in the extras department. However, that
shouldn’t stop all of you that yearn for the days of Hellhammer, as
Warhammer more than satisfactorily evoke the memory of Satanic Slaughter,
Slayed Necros, and Denial Fiend. You have no fuckin’ excuse, buy or die a
poser.
www.metalmind.com.pl |
http://mvdb2b.com |
www.warhammer-deathmetal.de |
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