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Arctic Flame - Declaration
(Pure Steel) By Metal Mark |
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After a few false starts New Jersey's Arctic Flame started
up in early 2003. They released their debut "Primal
Aggressor" in 2006. They have opened for Thin Lizzy, Michael
Schenker, Yngwie Malmsteen/George Lynch, Helloween, W.A.S.P.,
Overkill, Motorhead and others. Being on Pure Steel records
gave me an immediate indication that this was going to be
80's style metal. Indeed these guys are very much in that
camp. This is a blend of hard hitting classic influences
like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Omen plus early
progressive metal like Crimson Glory and 80's Fates Warning.
The first two tracks "The Unknown God" and "Blind
Leads the
Blind" are both adequate, but not exactly complete. |
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Both sounded like they need some more tweaking to make them
complete. I am not sure what got into the band after that,
but they turn the tide on for track three "Lords of the
Wasteland". It emerges with a massive riff and some inspired
drumming. From this point on Arctic Flame seem more settled
and they take control of the rest of the album. The last six
songs are very fine examples of pure metal the way it was
meant to be constructed. One of my first thoughts about this
album is that it is refreshing to hear a vocalist who really
sings and knows how to use their voice to really build their
songs. The music is filled with thick layers and some sharp
turns and twists. There are a few songs where it sounds like
guitars are a notch below the vocals and the drums. A minor
production problem, but hopefully something they will look
at before the next album. This style is very much up my
alley so it only took me a couple of plays to really warm up
to it.
www.myspace.com/arcticfire |
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Centaurus-A- Side Effects Expected
(Listenable Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
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Centaurus-A, besides being an interesting case of galactic
cannibalism, are a technical death metal outfit from Germany
that have been around in one form or another since 2000.
Between 2000-03, the band released four demos and appeared
to be making a serious push towards recognition but,
afterwards, completely dropped out of sight (band members
have since floated in and out of other projects, most
notably the folk-driven black metal act Klabautamann).
However, the band has now re-appeared in the form of a debut
full-length entitled “Side Effects Expected” and released on
Listenable Records.
Immediately, I would characterize “Side Effects Expected” as
Necrophagist-lite with |
elements of melodic death metal with some flashy guitar
melodies. Overall, the effect works well with fine
musicianship and the melodic moments, more or less,
seamlessly integrated into the technical death metal base of
“Side Effects Expected”, all the while backed up with a
huge, crunch-laden production.
All of this is done reasonably well on “Side Effects
Expected”, and the songwriting is generally good with
overall catchy songs in addition to the fine musicianship,
including some nice bass lines, but there isn’t anything
original about Centaurus-A. Unfortunately, “Side Effects
Expected” is probably just going to be another release
relegated to the second tier of death metal in a crowded
field with plenty of giants. In other words, you’ll probably
enjoy “Side Effects Expected” while you’re listening, but
the album will be quickly forgotten afterwards. At least,
that’s my take, but there’s plenty of promise on “Side
Effects Expected”. In order to leap up from the second tier,
though, Centaurus-A are going to have to do a whole lot more
to really stand out.
www.myspace.com/centaurusa
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Crown The Lost - Blind Faith Loyalty
(Cruz Del Sur) By Metal Mark |
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This is the sophomore effort from Pittsburgh's Crown The
Lost. According to their Myspace page they have spent around
a year writing this album. They label themselves as thrash
and I am sure many reviewers will give them label as well.
However there is definitely and air of progressive metal
down below the surface of their songs. Oh, it's sped up
certainly, but I can't help noticing some parts that
remind me of early Crimson Glory. There are also some shades
of the type of swirling riffs that had me thinking of early
King Diamond and Solitude Aeturnus. They begin almost every
song with a strong burst and oftentimes the first 10-15
seconds are the most powerful part of each song. Inevitably
they |
travel down some more complicated avenues though. You do
have to focus some to keep up with all that is going on. I
appreciate the speed and the amount of riffs, but I was left
feeling hollow at times. The reason for that is that they
don't always incorporate the level of heaviness that I think
their material could use. It's as if the ideas were started,
but there just is not enough meat on the material to really
sustain it. I think the apparent lack of that edge is the
difference between being good and just being decent. This
album falls in that second category.
www.myspace.com/crownthelostmetal
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Debauchery - Rockers And War
(AFM Records) Review by James
Young |
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Boy, this is an album of two halves. In the past, Debauchery
have given us some mighty death metal, which ranges from
mid-paced to frantic, whilst all the while sporting a nice
groovy Six Feet Under vibe to it. And that’s exactly what
the first part of this album delivers - actually, it
transcends all their previous outputs, and makes for some
terrific listening. Whilst some tracks bring the
foot-tapping hooks, such as ‘Primordial Annihilator’, others
simply destroy. There is also a highly experimental edge to
these songs, such as the Eastern-sounding intro to ‘Wolves
Of The North’, and there even seem to be synths and piano at
points in ‘There Is Only War’ and ‘Honor And Courage’, which
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set against the ludicrously fast blastbeats of Oliver "Oli"
Zellmann, makes for a precision-punching war machine. The
beauty of this band lies in the organised chaos that makes
up their sound - the solos sound crazy, but they seem to fit
wonderfully into the song and add a lot to each number. Even
when there’s a guitar frequency buzzing all over the place
in ‘Savage Mortician’, you just know it’ll all come together
in one anvil-heavy dollop of grooving goodness.
First half covered. Experimental, yes. But we know the band
are clever like that. What we didn‘t really see coming was
the second half of the album, which turns into a AC/DC album
right before the listener’s very ears! Ah, so that’s what
the Rockers And War must have meant - we’ve had the ‘War’,
now it’s time to get into our time machines and visit the
cock-rocking 80’s. The band have had their hard rocking
moments in the past, but this is a solid five songs of hard
rock heaven (or hell, depending on your taste…). There are
still a lot of death metal grunts, but that’s where the
‘extreme’ tag begins and ends - otherwise there’s a lot of
dirty riffing, brazenly simple drumming patterns, vocal
harmonies, and cheesy song titles like ‘3 Riff Hit’ and
‘Rocker’. As for the lyrics, let’s just say there’s a song
called ‘Demon Lady’ that’s dedicated to a woman’s love for
the singers meat and two veg. It’s actually very good as
hard rock goes, but I’m not sure whether it’s what the
seasoned death metaller either expected or really wanted.
What a weird album, and one that will certainly reward those
with open minds. If you’re familiar with Debauchery’s
previous works, there’s a good chance you’ll like it, but
most extreme metal fans will be a bit saddened that only
half of the album is occupied by their great death metal
material.
www.debauchery.de |
www.myspace.com/debaucheryband |
www.afm-records.de |
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Dictator - Dysangelist (Sérpéné
Héli Music) Review by Steve Green |
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Coming from the beautiful sunshine island of Cyprus, we have the utterly
miserable Dictator, with his own sewer
dwelling brand of blackened Funeral Doom. This album is about as miserable
as it gets and is as dark as anything I've ever heard, and I love it.
Dysangelist is a 4 track affair, weighing in at an utterly miserable and
tortuous 75 minutes, which deals with, and I quote "the religious worship
of death and the inevitable decline of faith leading into salvation". I
guess the research must have really pissed Dictator off as he is not a
very happy chappy. But in all seriousness, this is a fantastic slice of
atmospheric Funeral Doom that's dripping in anguish. At times it's such
a depressing listen that it makes |
listening to My Dying Bride a positively joyous task, which
actually it is, but you get my drift. Dysangelist is an
album to immerse yourself in and to switch off from
everything around you. Whilst your average woman might take
a long soak in the bath to relax (sorry if anyone finds that
sexist) I find listening to something this utterly desolate
a fantastic way to relax. Right now I'm alone in my house,
which hardly ever happens, and I'm enjoying the solitude
with the most soul destroying dirge I've heard in a
long-time. It's just as well I'm not suicidal as this album
could really send me over the edge.
Quite simply, this album is a must buy for anyone who is a
fan of oppressive hateful darkness.
www.serpenehelimusic.com |
www.myspace.com/thetruedictator |
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Dissection - Dissected Tapes
(Ledo Takas Records) review by
Sam Thomas |
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Before we go any further, let’s just briefly get this over
with: no, this is not the more famous Swedish band named
Dissection, but a Lithuanian band with the same name who
produced two demos in the early nineties which have been
amalgamated together for this release. Ledo Takas have
produced this as the first instalment of a series
“Lithuanian Metal: The Roots”, which will deal with, well,
the roots of Lithuanian metal. Dissection are the logical
choice for the first release as they were one of the main
bands in Lithuania at the time, influencing a huge number of
underground acts. |
The first thing that got me with this recording was the fact
that, given it was produced originally in 92 and 93, under
conditions that would almost certainly give a new definition
to the word “primitive”, it is actually not that bad a
production. Every week, I hear current recordings that are
of no better quality, so that was quite a pleasant surprise.
The man behind the remaster, Gints Lundbergs deserves huge
acclaim for the quality that he’s managed to produce here.
And the content was quite a surprise as well, pure technical
death metal at its finest. I guess in some ways it makes
sense: if you have an extremely oppressive regime, then
those who wish to pursue a lifestyle outside of the accepted
norms will have to have a degree of dedication to their art
or beliefs which you do not see in a less regimented
society. Anyone who has the guts to produce a track called
“Oppression” under those circumstances is worthy of
admiration.
Whatever, Dissection certainly had talent and determination.
And they could play, managing to combine brutality with a
very clear sound that belies the difficult conditions under
which they lived and recorded. The guitar sound is
particularly fine on the final track of the album,
“Suffocating Syndrom”, which is in fact from the first demo
tape.
This is an important release, and I can only hope that the
remaining releases in the series match up to this beginning.
It stands up perfectly as a current release, a triumph of
talent over adversity.
www.ledotakas.net
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Dissimulation - Atiduokit Mirusius
(Ledo Takas Records) Review by Crin |
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Lithuanian Black Thrash Metal that rekindles the raw rasping
vocal bite and chopping guitar riffs of likewise dirty
thrash trustees, Amok, Sabbat [Japan], The Battalion, etc.
It is the ability to grab the attention of the ears that
makes such a release tenable or just plain boring. This
Lithuanian act have a fine grasp of Thrash compositional
know how, they craft catchy ass kicking songs that blast
past you like a buffalo with its balls on fire. You won't
discover anything new, nor will this album change your life,
but it has a certain charm so important to a genre that
really perpetually treads water. Thrash is what it is. If
you add keyboards, female vocals or any other diversion from
the root form, it is no longer Thrash. |
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This particular genre does not have the flexibility of Black
Metal, so its not easy to stand out amongst the familiar
style attributed to the music’s generally one dimensional
ethos. The lyrics are in Lithuanian but as they are spat
from a boiling guttural bark, you’ll never know the
difference. Atiduokit Mirusius,
is the bands third album and they have been around since
1995, so it is no surprise the music is tighter than your
average act and therefore has the sustainability factor
throughout the albums duration. Solid tracks abound here,
although not all as memorable as one would wish.
www.ledotakas.net |
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