|
|
|
|
|
Asphyx - Death…The Brutal Way (Century Media)
Review by
Chris Davison |
 |
A couple of years ago, you couldn’t move for melodic death
metal bands, all trying very hard to be At The Gates. Then,
you were flooded by hordes of rather silly looking gentlemen
dressed in cheap PVC, wearing unconvincing face paint and
doing their damnedest to sound like Dimmu Borgir. Then there
were lots of death metal bands trying very hard indeed to
sound like Mithras, and an even more annoying trend of kids
who weren’t even born when “Bonded by Blood” was released
doing the whole ten-bob Exodus rip-off trip. So what’s the
extreme metal fashion this season? Well, as usual in metal
circles black is…erm…the old…the new….oh fuck it, it’s
always the season to |
wear black of course. What is really de-rigueur is playing
“old school death metal”.
Which brings me rather nicely to the reunited, and it seems
reinvigorated, Asphyx. A mere eight years (which doesn’t
sound that long when you say it quickly) since their last
album, the Dutch men of death release this killer album. The
beauty of this outfit is that they don’t need to play at
being old school. They don’t need to try and ape the sound
of Entombed. Why? Because they were there first time round,
and they haven’t forgotten the number one ingredient in good
death metal. It isn’t in any production sound (though the
gnarled, twisted and fuzzed up guitar sound is an absolute
vicious pleasure), and it certainly isn’t in any kind of
hyper technicality. It’s all about the atmosphere baby. No
point in playing death metal if it isn’t going to be morbid,
dripping in attitude and rotten to the core. ”Death…The
Brutal Way” is a wonderful album. It’s a gloomy, stomping
affair, with songs tending towards a doomy pace and
grimace-inducing riffing, with some martial drum beats and
sections that invite uncontrollable head banging.
This then is for the true metal fan. Poseurs need not apply,
because the atmosphere – nay, the magic – of this album will
make untrue listeners dissolve into the vapid, genre hopping
pools of protoplasmic turds that they are. Some old fans
might raise an eyebrow at the gall of the band naming the
fifth track “Asphyx 2”, but believe me when I say that this
Van Drunen fronted, psychotic and single-minded version of
the band are at least the equal of any of their former line-ups. The greatest danger here is that Asphyx
may at last move beyond their cult appeal by rising in
popularity – because “Death…The Brutal Way” is certainly in
line for being one of my albums of the year. Just one things
guys – don’t let the next album be another eight years away,
ok?
www.centurymedia.com |
| |
|
Bone Shaker - Union
(Firewalk) Review by Metal Mark |
 |
Wisconsin based trio Bone Shaker follow-up 2007's "Bang,...You're Dead"
with their latest effort. Now I loved their previous
album, but admittedly they were very much following their
influences. So the result was a classic style metal disc
owing much to WASP, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Grim Reaper
and others. Now obviously the band has felt the need to
reach out and establish their own sound. The influences are
still there in places, only Bone Shaker have tried to build
on them rather than just channeling the ideas. The results
are mixed, but mainly successful. The overall sound is
certainly more varied than on the last album. There are more
pace changes within individual songs this time |
around. It doesn't always work, but it certainly adds some
flexibility to their sound and they exhibit a fair amount of
control. Now admittedly it took me longer to get into
"Union" than it did for "Bang,... You're Dead" and that's
mainly because the material on the last album was instantly
familiar because it was so like other bands I knew. However,
Bone Shaker are going through a transition of trying to
evolve in both writing and playing. They have pulled upon
various ideas this time around. It's not just 80's metal
this time, because there are some more modern sounds, hard
rock and others stirred into the pot for this release. Not
every track is great, but I appreciate the effort and I
think that they are on the right track. I am certainly
interested in seeing where they go next.
www.myspace.com/boneshakerinfo |
| |
|
Conspiracy - Concordat
(Pulverised Records) Review by Crin |
 |
A one man Black Metal band from Holland and that should say
it all really! The cover art is far removed from the usual
graveyards, demons and blasphemy imagery. Its more like a
space age diorama reflecting some cyber metal release. This
is the second album and I can't imagine why, as this really
offers little to be enthralled about. Although the tracks
are intricately woven they fizzle out quickly as mere
replicates of a well trodden path. There may be female
vocals appearing now and then, but they add a momentary
glimpse of the smooth technical blackened death act this
band could be. The music at times is lightning quick and
extremely well deployed, but so are numerous acts jostling
for position in this |
massively congested scene. There is even an acoustic track
lumped in the middle to soften the dominant snares all-out
blazing attack. Here the snarling vocals are replaced with
clean singing, but even this cannot save the whole album
from wallowing in its own lack of interesting moments. If
you really need to search for the highlights here they will
appear at the end when the velocity subsides and the
instruments are given scope to breath. Here, and here alone
can one rescue any glimmer of musical fluidity from an
overly lacklustre offering.
www.pulverised.net/
|
www.myspace.com/metalconspiracy |
| |
|
Darkness Dynamite - The Astonishing
Fury of Mankind (Metal Blade) Review by Steve Green |
 |
I do wonder at times about the signing policies of certain record labels.
Here we have Darkness Dynamite, a band who seem intent on being
influenced by every other Metal band on the planet. Sometimes I hear a
hybrid of Sepultura and Pantera, at other times it's a much more modern
affair with melodic choruses and a huge dollop of Scandinavian inspired
slickness. Sometimes I'm reminded of Shadows Fall and sometimes it's the
post-punk vibe of Killing Joke. Admittedly, this does all sound very
nice and the production is absolutely fantastic, but fuck me, what I'd
give for just an ounce of originality. Which takes me back to why these
guys got signed in the first place. Was it a case of Mr A&R loving |
|
what he heard, or was it the dollar signs that lit up in
front of his eyes as he could have possibly have discovered
the next Metalcore sensation? My
gut instinct is the latter, but every now and then, I'll hear a killer
chorus or a blazing old school guitar solo and I'll change my mind and
say it's all about the music. Yeah I know, I'm as gullible as fuck.
Anyway, the band are still worth checking out, even if it's only for the
best track on the album, $15.
www.myspace.com/darknessdynamitemusic |
| |
|
Ex Deo - Romulus
(Nuclear Blast)
By: Joe Florez |
 |
After hearing and reading for months about this monumental
project, lead growler Maurizio Iacono brings Romulus to
life. When I had the chance to review this, I read the bio
and saw that members of Kataklysm were on board as well. My
first speculation was that this was going to be another
hyper blast collaboration like his day job. I had no idea
what was in store for me. The title track is the first to be
lead out of the gates and comes crashing through your
speakers like a massive tsunami. Let’s get this out of the
way now. This is not Kataklysm part 2 with all hyper tracks.
This is more mid paced, but packed with punishment. I would
like to call this symphonic epic death metal. “Romulus”
comes |
prepared with haunting chants, melodic guitar licks,
crushing drumming, Hollywood symphonic epic string
arrangements, horns and of course Maurizio’s threatening
vocals. In case you are in the dark about this concept, it’s
about the story of Romulus and his brother Remus and the
birth of Rome. Despite the evil growls contained within each
track, you can hear the passion, conviction and emotion
which makes this thing more than convincing. Damn, I was
floored at how much harder track two “Storm The Gates Of
Alesia” comes at you. Behemoth’s Nergal lends support to the
guys which gives this one more punch and crunch than the
opener as if that was possible. Arnt from Keep Of Kalessin
and Karl Sanders also help out the Canadians as well. Some
of the songs do progress and contain more octane when called
for. I wish Maurizio was my history teacher in high school.
I would have gotten an A in this class. The songs contained
within are entertaining and you can easily get lost in this
thing as it’s captivating. Russell Crowe’s Gladiator flick
would have done far better if this was the soundtrack used
within. This is powerful and crushing and will definitely leave
you breathless when all is said and done. A lot of anthems
could be used here and if this thing ever sees the light of
day at a concert hall I feel sorry for the venues as they
will succumb into oblivion based on the sound alone. Your
blood will be pumping as you listen song by song and even if
you aren’t of Italian descent, you too will feel like and wannabe a Gladiator. Must buy or die by the sword of
Romulus.
www.nuclearblast.de
| www.myspace.com/exdeo |
| |
|
Finish Him! - An Audience With
(Copro Records) by Robert Cheesewright |
 |
Coventry’s Finish Him! are pretty darn good, but what would
you expect from a band clearly influenced by Mortal Combat?
When the promotional material said that it was mathcore in
the vein of Every Time I Die and Architects and having played
alongside Devil Sold His Soul I knew I was in for a treat:
where most L4M reviewers would find dread, I find glee –
hooray for plurality of tastes amongst metal heads.
This EP, is three tracks long, but is satisfying enough at
17minutes long. The first track is fast paced technical
hardcore, much like one would expect from the Dillinger
Escape Plan, the track then breaks into southern rock,
followed by a breakdown. The diverse influences |
come through to create a frenetic, yet compelling, track.
The second track, at 8-minutes long, is the epic of the
piece. The opening is fast, but the pace quickly alters into
Isis like slow, dark math rock. The length of the track
means I tend to phase out in the middle, but luckily the EP
is finished with the stunning, yet absurdly named, ‘Rosie Vs
Jim: The Final Showdown’. It’s this track where references
to Architects and Devil Sold His Soul become their most
accurate, and a clean-vocal chorus adds a touch of beauty to
the hardcore.
This EP is definitely not one for the metal purist, but
anyone with a love of technical hardcore/mathcore ought to
be bowled over.
www.myspace.com/scorpionwinsfatality |
| |
|
Graves Of Valor - Salarian Gate
(Relapse Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
 |
“Uh oh”, I said to myself as I was researching the debut
full-length, “Salarian Gate” (released on Relapse Records),
by South Carolinian quartet Graves Of Valor. The reason for
that are various descriptions of Graves Of Valor giving the
band a deathcore label. Shuddering at the thought of having
to wade through a Whitechapel clone, I spun the album with a
sense of dread. Luckily, although deathcore elements are
present, Graves Of Valor are probably closer to death metal
and have a bit of a melodic Swedish vibe going on with their
debut.
Combining variations in speed including a slow dirge to
close out the album, a nice crunch |
to the guitars, bits of melody, and guttural vocals
reminiscent of Swedish influences, most of the music to be
had on “Salarian Gate” is mid-paced death metal with plenty
of time changes. The deathcore influences that intrude are the odd breakdown or
two and a few shrieks. However, unlike Whitechapel and
similar bands, I probably wouldn’t characterize Graves Of
Valor as “slam”, or anything remotely like it, as the
deathcore elements are not emphasized.
Ultimately, Graves Of Valor are moderately enjoyable with
adequate musicianship, good production, decent songwriting,
and so on. However, there’s nothing really original about
“Salarian Gate”, and I don’t envision myself returning to it
very often. But, there is definitely some promise to Graves
Of Valor, and let’s see if the band can build upon this
decent debut.
www.myspace.com/fromgravesofvalor
| www.relapse.com |
| |
|
Horde of Hel - Blodskam
(Moribund Cult / Regain)
By: Dave Schalek |
 |
Ho, what have we here?! Horde of Hel, a new black metal
supergroup of sorts from Sweden signed to Moribund Cult for
their debut full-length entitled “Blodskam”, are a
mysterious, fearsome beast indeed. Remaining anonymous, the
four members of Horde of Hel are, undoubtedly, big names in
the Swedish scene (I’m sure that you can figure it all out
with some digging), and have decided to issue their debut on
Moribund Cult, a label with a varied roster of acts, some
better than others.
“Blodskam” is a ferocious mix of raw black metal with
touches ranging from the atmospheric, to the industrial, to
the psychedelic avant-garde, and beyond. Sounding |
somewhat like a rawer version of “Monotheist” or “The Work
Which Transforms God”, but with considerably more intensity
and misanthropy, “Blodskam” has a truly vicious, slimy sound
that begins with a mid-paced, black metal base somewhat
reminiscent of acts such as Sargeist and the like. Horrid
rasps combined with a greasy vocal delivery, some nicely
fluid bass work, and well written, interesting songs with
disjointed riffs deliver “Blodskam” as a solid entry in raw
black metal. Further complementing the mature sound are
nicely done, apocalyptic touches of industrial electronics,
psychedelics, a moment or two of progressive melody, and
atmospheric ambience that make “Blodskam” one of the more
interesting black metal releases of the year thus far. Not
to stray too far away from traditional sounds, “Blodskam”
does contain a few blasts, but these moments are by no means
the focus of the album.
Clocking in with thirteen varied tracks, including a couple
of spoken word intonations about apocalyptic terrorism and
hatred, “Blodskam” is an excellent release that will
interest anyone with a taste for slightly off of the norm
black metal. “Blodskam” is an album that you’re really going
to have to devote some time in order for it all to sink in.
I suspect that “Blodskam” will end up garnering careful
consideration for inclusion in my Top Ten list for this
year. Highly impressive; buy or die.
"Blodskam" is also being released on Regain Records
in Europe.
www.regainrecords.com
| www.myspace.com/heldivine
| www.moribundcult.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
