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Afgrund - Vid Helvetets Grindar
(Willowtip Records) Review by Crin |
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Swedish Death-Grindcore that blasts a horrid deathly
blitzkrieg from a Swedish Death Metal sound base. This is
Death of a more brutal form, similar to Rotten Sound or
Nasum. The tracks are composed quite well, and retain the
ability to scream and hack at your quivering ears in true
Grind style. The band were formed in 2006, released a demo,
did a a split CD with Relevant Few [also from Sweden]
through Lifestage Productions in 2007, and the album Svarta
Dagar, all in the same year. This second release shows far
more depth and old school flair to the aural carnage. In
this age where the Grind scene isn’t exactly prolific, it
takes a band like this to really remind you just how
scathing this form of |
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music can be. There are 17 magma spitting tracks and that
number is also important for the following reason. The
drummer is only 17, and his double bass attack and overall
snare work is amazing. The bass has a skull fracturing
distortion designed to ignite the whole sound into oblivion.
So, here we have an album of flesh chomping Death/ Grind
that will appeal to fans of the genre and little else.
www.willowtip.com |
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Blackguard - Profugus Mortis
(Nuclear Blast)
By Nathan Ward |
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Blackguard are a sextet from Canada, who originally started
off as a Black metal band. Mix this with folk metal and you
end up with ‘Profugus Mortis’. Blackguard fit in very well
with the folk metal genre, sounding like a mixture of Turisas
and Alestorm.
The album opens with ‘Scarlet to Snow’, which starts off
with a fanfare of trumpets and synth, giving the song a
theatrical build up, which then crashes into a really
impressive opening riff. Blackguard have a song about
drinking on ‘Profugus Mortis’, entitled ‘This Round’s on
me’. The song has a sea-shanty feel to it, some-what
reminiscent of Alestorm, with fast riffs and impressive lead
work through-out it. The rest of the album is full of |
trumpet/synth fanfare-esque keyboards, fast and technical
guitar work. Sadly you can’t hear the bass that well, unless
you have the bass on your stereo/PC up quite high, but the
drums come through clear, without being muddied by the other
instruments. The vocals are your usual death/black metal
growls, similar to Warlord Nygård of Turisas.
‘Profugus Mortis’ is a really great album to act as
Blackguard’s European debut, I have really enjoyed listen to
it and I hope they start to gain a following over here. So
if you like the folk metal genre or just something with good
melodies give ‘Profugus Mortis’ a listen.
www.nuclearblast.de |
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Blood Tsunami - Grand Feast of
Vultures (Candlelight) Review by Steve Green |
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I remember Blood Tsunami's debut, simply because it was entitled Thrash
Metal and now, hearing the band for the first time, yes they are
obviously Thrash Metal, but this has such a strong Scandinavian feel to
it, despite the obviously borrowed Slayer guitar tones, it gives it a
slightly different feel than the rest of the bands in the genre. At
least the ones I've been privy to hear.
Be it Faust's non-stop pulverisation of his kit, or the song structures,
particularly the long drawn out instrumental passages on the albums
longer songs, (Personal Exorcism clocks in at 8.24, while both
Horshehead Nebula and One Step Closer To The Grave clock in at
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over 10 minutes), I feel Blood Tsunami are going to be more
popular with fans of Nordic Black and Death, rather than
your average denim and leather Thrasher. Although with
saying that, the blackened Iron Maiden feel of Horshehead Nebula should appeal to everyone with a Metal heart. And with
a running time of 12.32, is this the worlds longest ever Metal
instrumental?
Look, this album is beautifully constructed, with the same skill and
feel of early Metallica. The musicianship, as you'd expect, is out of
this world, yet I'm still going to nitpick about the term Thrash Metal,
despite anything I may have written in this review as I think this will
appeal to all fans of Extreme Metal in general rather than the Thrash
brigade. Anyway, the faster
numbers can be found on the bands Myspace:
www.myspace.com/bloodtsunami |
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Brutal Truth - Evolution Through Revolution
(Relapse Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
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By now, everyone out there knows that “Evolution Through
Revolution” is the first proper full-length from seminal
grindcore act Brutal Truth since 1997’s “Sounds Of The
Animal Kingdom”. Ever since Brutal Truth’s breakup in 1998,
a sentimental nostalgia for the band has grown over the
years and the time appears to be right for a reformation and
the release of a new record. As might be expected after such
a long hiatus, there’s been a bit of a lineup change with
Nuclear Assault alum Erik Burke taking over for Gurn on
guitar. As might also be expected, “Evolution Through
Revolution” is released on Relapse Records.
I still think that “Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme
Responses” is among the best |
grindcore albums ever made,
and, ever since that release, I’ve always been mildly
disappointed with Brutal Truth’s subsequent releases (I’ll
probably be vilified for that one). With that in mind,
“Evolution Through Revolution” is not quite as good as
“Extreme Conditions…”, but it’s damn close. A kaleidoscopic
whirlwind of hydro grind, “Evolution Through Revolution”
shows a great deal of variation buried in the chaos of 20
songs spread out over 41 minutes. Seamlessly alternating
between all out blasts that seem to swirl out of control and
a slight decrease in chaotic intensity with moments of
crunch, “Evolution Through Revolution” is held together with
the gigantic backbone of Dan Lilker’s very loud bass. In a
nod to the hydro grind aspects of the sub-genre, Brutal
Truth even throw in “Semi-Automatic Carnation”, a
slower-paced, stoner/doom sludge track towards the end of
the album, complete with weird electronic effects.
Although a bit long for a grindcore album, the end result is
that “Evolution Through Revolution” is an excellent comeback
album. Undoubtedly, a heavy touring cycle will probably
follow, as Brutal Truth appear to be reinvigorated.
www.brutaltruth.com
| www.relapse.com |
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Defueld - Defueld
(Shortwave Records)
Review by Strawb |
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I have just spent the weekend at Hammerfest 2009. As I
wandered about the event, I was struck, once again, by the
variety of the genus Homo Metalian. This was brought about
by seeing my travelling companion Chris, a chunky [sorry,
Chris corrects me here, the term is ‘muscular’] 6’2” walking
encyclopaedia of metal, headbanging to Cathedral alongside a
5’, six-stone chick with a bunny rucksack. My reflections
then turned to those I had heard who were victims of the
wonderful way this country is being abandoned by the
Government, bemoaning their lack of available funds, but,
redundant or fiscally challenged, |
tribute to them, they were still here. Contrastingly, an
annoying loud student Henry in the shop queue had nothing to
say worth hearing, but especially was whinging on about the
‘fucking price of the fucking bread ‘and not wanting to put
it on his parents’ credit card, because he had already put
the festival, rail travel and ‘expenses’ on there. I only
hope these two examples were sharing a room, and that the
‘two enter, one leaves’ policy still applies. I pontificate
about this diversity to lead in to the fact that Defueld cannot be
firmly entrenched in any of the multitudinous sub genres of
metal, but - as this album demonstrates - they produce a
smorgasbord of sounds.
The band originate from Stockholm, Sweden, but reading
through their publicity blurb and checking out their
website, their main success seems to have been achieved in
Senegal after their 2007 tour to that country. So to the
readers of Le Soliel [the largest newspaper in Senegal] I
apologise if I am covering old ground here. The five members
of Defueld cover the fairly standard two guitars, bass,
drums and keyboard line-up. Vocal credits are given to all
but the drummer Patrik, which may go some way to covering
the range on offer on this, their debut.
The great opening track, Spawn, begins with a burst of
keyboards, has whispering and then has great guitar moments
before the main vocals arrive. I was put in mind of
Evanescence when I used to like them. No bad thing and my
attention is grabbed. Forever begins in much the same vein,
but a few guttural vocals begin the divergence. Strings and
drums open the slower tempo of Endless Roll, which has many
catchy rock moments. Waiting In The Wings is the first of
the slower ballads, but it still has the good guitar work
there, although the mixing pushes it into the background.
Retarded has had other listeners take initial objection to
it, until they actually listen to the lyrics. One of the
better tracks. Blind is the out and out, almost acoustic,
track. No complaint about it in this category; however, it
is the closing track and means that we end the album on a
downer: bad placement, chaps.
In summary, the album has no weak spots, but the variety of
it makes me think that it may fail to attract a hard-core
following because of this alone. I am sure we can all list
Death Metal Riffs and piano ballads which we frequently
play, but rarely from the same artists, and never from the
same album! Many people have listened to this one with me
and none have found it unpleasant; however neither have any
been jotting down the details to subsequently buy it.
See if it appeals to you at
www.defueld.com |
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Devils Whorehouse - Blood and Ashes
(Regain Records) Review by Chris Davison |
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Ever had one of those double take moments on first listening
to a new band? I'm talking about the likes of when you
first heard a Count Raven track at a friends house and
thought that he'd uncovered some lost Sabbath tapes, or the
time where you convinced your gullible dad that Sheavy was
in fact Ozzy Osbourne playing with AC/DC. (My dad actually
believed that - which is proof that any lie spoken loudly
enough can clothe itself in truth). Well, Devils Whorehouse
had me reaching for the inlay to check that this wasn't a
new record for Danzig. Seriously, this is an album that
could easily have been the work of the evil midget himself. |
A side project of the bassist from the war-loving black
metallers Marduk, Devils Whorehouse were originally formed
as a Samhain / Misfits covers band, so it should really not
have been that much of a surprise for me when I heard
Maelstrom's vocals. It would be easy for me, therefore to
just say "If you like Danzig, you'll like this", but that
would be doing the band an extreme disservice, not least
because this is better than anything that outfit have put
out in donkeys years. This is modern, aggressive punk-edged
heavy metal with a dark, gothic undertone. Tracks like
"Speak The Name Of The Dead" retain an almost hardcore
guitar tone, while the simple but effective Motorhead-esque
rhythm section underpins everything, while that voice sends
shivers down the spine.
It's a rather enjoyable album, simple but none the worse for
it, and although the guitar sound can grate a little, being
effectively cursed with the same annoying thin sound that
plagued Type O Negative circa "Bloody Kisses", the
superlative songwriting skills at play ensure that this
never ruins the rest of the music. In this case, the covers
band have ended up being greater than the sum parts of their
influences. Bloody, camp and faintly ridiculous an album
this may be, but by God is it fun.
www.regainrecords.com |
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Ektomorf - What Doesn't Kill Me...
(AFM Records) Review by
Marco Gaminara |
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I've got two Ektomorf releases, and have always thought of
them very similar in sound to Soulfly, as does everyone else
for that matter, but this release just doesn't have the
energy that the other 2 did. Somehow it feels more formulaic
and less intense. Granted the music is dynamic and filled
with elaborate changes and Zoltán Farkas vocals sound as
angry as ever, but there just seems to be something amiss.
All the songs are nice and short, so they can deliver their
punch and be over, without dragging on and never getting
anywhere. I'm not saying the album is tedious, as there are
certainly some really catchy riffs in there that shall
probably have plenty of mosh pits bouncing around in front
of them, and their |
choruses are really easy to sing along to, like the one in
"Rat War". The title track "What Doesn't Kill Me..." is
quite bouncy. "Love And Live" has a choppy riff that's
rather chunky, but the one in "I Got It All" is far better,
even though they do all start to sound a little samey after
endless repeated listens. Jozsef Szakács opening
drum beat on "New Life" is almost disco, along with slow and
steady. I've no idea who's doing guest vocals on "Sick Of It
All" but it's very rap metal, while "It's Up To You" is far
more up-tempo and one of the better tracks on the disc.
Zoltán Farkas and Tamás Schrottner guitars sound a lot
heavier on "Envy", and they have a bit of a Machine Head
flavour in the use of false harmonics. Sabolcs Murvai's
rumbling bass can be most clearly heard on "Scream" which is
very Fear Factory in its bottom end heaviness. "Breed The
Fire" concludes this album, which shall certainly be enjoyed
by Ektomorf and Soulfly fans like, but sadly I think they've
done better.
www.ektomorf.com
| www.afm-records.de |
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Emperor - Live Inferno
(Candlelight Records) Review by Crin |
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Have you ever felt like God [presuming there is one] blew a
gust of euphoric wind from the sky that completely
overwhelmed you??? Fuck!! This double live cd just had a
similar sort of effect on me. The mightiest Black Metal band
of them all [in my opinion] emerge here with some quite
astounding live performances. The inclusion of so much
Nightside Eclipse era material just brings back so many
memories of those far off days when the Norwegian Black
metal phenomenon gave birth to its most wondrous bands.
Sure, Mayhem have all the nasty deeds and one hell of an
album in De Mysteriss, Immortal are sure fire crowd pleaser
and Darkthrone just ooze raw primitivism. Let’s not forget
the pure genius of |
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Burzum, the very key to the scenes conception. But all that
said, none can touch the sheer velocity, or slick songcraft
that is so finely tuned it defies all reason. Emperor are
quite simply peerless and this double live album proves it.
This release pisses from a great height on the impressive
earlier live outing, Emperial Live Ceremony album of 2000.
First off we get the, Inferno festival performance.. and
from the very first track, Into The Infinity Of Thoughts, we
are gloriously shoved through the Black Metal grinder as we
get pulverized by Cosmic Keys to My Creations & Times, Thus
Spake the Nightspirit, An Elegy of Icaros, Curse you all
Men! A surprise in the form of Wrath of the Tyrants, oozes
pure church smoke, and the following, With Strength I Burn,
Towards the Pantheon, The Majesty of the Nightsky, The Loss
and Curse of Reverence, In the Wordless Chamber, Inno a
Satana, just remove all doubt that you are listening to a
band so in tune with the music they play, it becomes a real
honour to be laid waste under the weight of the music’s
splendour. And when you thought it couldn’t get any better,
the finest Black metal song of them all [arguably], I am the
Black Wizards, makes its entrance under a barrage of Ihsahns
guttural roar and Samoths rhythmic axe attack. Let's give a
high praise to the poor sticksman here, the epileptic hidden
snare hammer, Trym. He really does astound at times. The
second cd, the slightly less potent, Live at Wacken Open Air
2006, is pretty much more of the same and just amplifies the
pleasure of the first cd by hearing a slightly different
mix. The track listing is identical so there isn’t any
really difference. For your information, several formats
will be available including a 2cd/slip case with 16-page
booklet, a limited edition box featuring 2 cds & dvd with an
enhanced 24 page booklet, a single dvd, and two limited
edition double-vinyl gatefold sets. All in all, a must have
for all Black Metal enthusiasts and a kindly reminder of
just why Emperor are the greatest Black metal band of them
all. www.emperorhorde.com |
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Fairyland - Score to a New Beginning
(Napalm) Review by Dave Baynham |
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This is the third album of epic fantasy film score metal
from French act Fairyland and a damn fine one at that.
Better than the soap opera that surrounds the recording of
it. After the tour for the last album all of the band except
keyboardist / composer Philippe Giordana left. That’s not he
sacked them, it’s they left. So this album has about as many
guitarists as Chinese Democracy. The core of the line up for
this disc is Greek progmetallers Pathosray and most of the
lead vocals are handled by their singer Marco Sandron and
Georg Neuhauser of Serenity. Both do a sterling job as does
Flora Spinelli who provides female vocals on the final
track, as she did on their previous album. That disc, the
well received |
‘The Fall of an Empire’ is how I first
encountered Fairyland and it was so enjoyable that I got
Napalm Records’ re-release of debut ‘Of Wars in Oshiria’
which had vocals by former Dark Moor singer Elisa C. Martin.
Despite changes in vocalist the overall sound and atmosphere
of Fairyland’s material is pretty consistent. The music is
symphonic metal, with some power metal elements and a huge
film score influence. While the most immediate comparison is
Rhapsody there are also similarities to the instrumental
side of Epica and Sonata Arctica. There are memorable tunes
and monumental riffs. This album has some sparkling keyboard
solos which are very reminiscent of Rick Wakeman in his
prime. Lyrically it continues the story of fantasy world
Oshyria from their previous material. Another continued
element I like is the use of cover art by Gonzalo “Genzo”
Ordonez whose pictures helped create a real fantasy
atmosphere to the last cd inlay. The whole album is an epic
package of music to slay orcs by.
www.fairyland-metal.com
| www.napalmrecords.com |
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