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A Love Ends Suicide
- In The Disaster (Metal Blade Records) review by Baulky |
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Well, taking their cues from bands like As I Lay Dying,
Unearth, Killswitch Engage and a whole host of other bands who
have been ripped off more times than I care to remember, A
Love Ends Suicide have taken the metalcore model, and shock
horror, written a record which sounds in no way different to a
whole series of other records that have been released in the
last couple of years.
That formulaic chugga chugga riffing, harmonic sections,
melodic sing-a-longs, lyrics about hating an ex girlfriend,
and of course, crystal clear production, make this an
altogether uninspiring listen; indeed, one which is so tired
and dull, that you can almost feel the mould |
growing
over the mould. The playing is good, the drums are savage (at
times), the vocalist is clearly quite angry about something or
other; it should all fit. But it doesn’t.
Forcing oneself to sit through songs like ‘Romance Creates
Killers’, which totally unnecessarily include sections of
entirely unprompted wailing, just waiting for that one tune to
really click and get it right all seems a little futile once
you get about 8 songs in, when it dawns on you that every song
sounds the same, you won’t be surprised by what happens next,
and that you’re wasting your life listening to it. It’s all a
bit depressing really.
It’s a shame because it seems that, as with so many
rap-scallions in their position, the boys have their hearts in
the right place, but writing material like ‘Dying To Be
Beautiful’ and the abominably titled ‘Skate Junction’ isn’t
going to do them any favours.
Better luck next time boys.
www.metalblade.com |
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Awoken – Death or
Glory (Let It Burn) Review by Samuel Munch-Petersen |
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The Swedes have the majority of metal bands, the Americans
have a large number of hardcore bands, but the Brits have
Awoken. And with wide eyes I can say that this band from
London (ah, my home town) are one of those special nectars that
should not be forgotten or missed. They are a hardcore band
and the Brits do seem to be doing quite well with bringing out
a myriad of over-the-pond ‘hxc’ line ups.
Awoken’s Death or Glory CD is to me one long song that changes
pitch, speed, dramatic flare and intensity. The album is
twelve tracks in length and is roughly twenty seven minutes
long. Which isn’t long at all. It’s one of those albums that
although short, seems to deliver |
enough
of what it needs to make the effect happen in your brain
wherein you can enjoy the music.
The album artwork has been designed by Meran/Darkmouth who
have also designed for Hatebreed, Bolt Thrower and many more.
The band have had some changes since forming in 2003 and
apparently have a new found determination to grow and develop
their music beyond what it has been and is already. Their
first release Take Aim broke many a barrier in the ever
increasing prison of hardcore bands. The so called ethos
behind hardcore bands has become stagnant in some respects and
Awoken have done everything in their power to diverge from the
norm that seems to be creating, shaping, leading and
destroying hardcore.
This album is a pure rendition of the ‘true’ nature of
hardcore. Awoken are
hardcore to the bone.
Awoken consists of Scott on vox with Dan on guitar and Adam on
Bass. Duncan is sat behind the kit. These musicians have
brought together music in a way that has been touched upon by
other bands, the difference being that Awoken have taken it
that step further and created something individual and yet
enjoyable enough to grasp any of you. I’m not a major hardcore
fan but there are the few out there that I do enjoy, Hatebreed,
Throwdown and Awoken have joined the slowly growing list.
The music itself is expertly applied and the vocals preach raw
bitterness at the increasing deformation of hardcore. Truly
inspired and accessible to all. Worth a listen.
www.awokenhc.com |
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Battalion – Winter
Campaign (Shiver Records) Review by Lee Kimber |
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When I was a young lad, many many years ago, I used to have
great fun going into the woods with a group of mates for a
quick game of war. It used to be great fun, running around
making machine gun noises and making bases to hide in. The
guys from Belgium’s Battalion enjoyed the same I’m sure,
except where as I got myself a bike one Christmas, it seems
they got guitars and Bolt Thrower albums. Their current
release Winter Campaign, is a 13 track death metal assault on
the ears.
The scene is set quite well by intro track ‘Spitfire’, which
is exactly what you would expect, the sounds of a plane flying
about a bit accompanied by the customary air raid sirens, |
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we launch into the first proper track, ‘Bombenkrieg’.
This is very much standard, however very competent, death
metal, nothing new here to blow you away. Ruben’s vocals are
sufficiently deep and aggressive and the Pieter’s guitar
provides a nice slab of grooviness to keep things moving along
nicely. The main trouble with this is the tracks are all
rather formulaic, so there’s not a great deal to keep you
interested. This is mainly down to the lyrical structure
leaving me feeling at times like they were using a war cliché
tombola to come up with the songs, an example from ‘Nuclear
Devastation’ goes (Burning rage, stream of hate, countless
bodies burst, savage attack, choking on flak, mushroom cloud
of death). The whole package is a mixture of Bolt Thrower and
early Carcass. Despite the fact that the album doesn’t feel like it
ever changes pace, there are a few standout tracks, ‘Warfiend’,
‘Defcon 696’ and the album closer ‘Death At The Helm’ all
proving to be sufficiently explosive fare. The trouble I found
with Winter Campaign was after a 2nd and 3rd listen, I found
the songs to just blend into each other and there was not
enough variety in each song and in the album overall to keep
my interest. It’s a perfectly listenable slab of War Metal,
but if you really want a soundtrack to run around a forest and
shoot your mates to over and over again, you’d be better off
with Bolt Thrower.
http://battalion.deathmetal.be/
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Blastmasters -
Twisted Metal
(BMX Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
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Diabolic, an excellent, underrated Florida-style death metal
band from Tampa, completely dropped off the radar a couple of
years ago after some quality releases. The best of the bunch
was “Subterraneal Magnitude”, which featured some chunky,
sloppy, memorable guitar riffs along with the lightning fast,
double bass driven drumming of whirlwind Aantar Lee Coates.
The last release from Diabolic was 2003’s “Infinity Through
Purification”.
Coates later surfaced in Unholy Ghost’s lone release,
“Torrential Reign”, that also featured Kelly McLauchlin from
Pessimist and more or less continued in the same style. Unholy
Ghost now appears to be defunct as does Diabolic, but Coates
is back with a new line-up, |
now
going by the moniker Blastmasters (also Coates’ nickname).
If you’re expecting any change in style from Diabolic and
Unholy Ghost, you’re in the wrong place. Blastmasters is
basically a clone of the aforementioned bands, but with
unfortunately, decidedly less talent. Coates’ blazing drumming
is very much at the forefront of this release, but the rather
weak guitars and non-existent bass are much more in the
background. What’s really lacking here is any degree of power
in the guitars, as well as the memorable riffs that Diabolic
was able to muster. Rumors of ex- Diabolic members writing the
guitars on “Twisted Metal” have been floating around the
Internet and I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if that were
the case. Equally unsurprising would be the lack of enthusiasm
for writing riffs that would be recorded by another guitar
player. Also disturbing to the Diabolic fan is the use of
“Twisted Metal”’s cover art on a supposedly forthcoming
Diabolic release (“Shellfire And Tombstones”) that has never
surfaced. The impression that I’m getting here is that Coates
seems to be settling for releasing material for the sake of
doing so, regardless of the quality.
What all of this boils down to is a definite second- tier (or
lower) release of non-memorable, Florida-style death metal
that we’ve all heard before, and done with much more flair and
talent. Let’s hope that Diabolic is able to resurface as
“Twisted Metal” is forgettable.
www.blastmasters1.com |
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Burning Skies –
Desolation (Lifeforce) Review by Samuel Munch-Petersen |
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A wiry and simple intro
starts the album, reminding me of scenes
from Ringu or from a budget vinyl player, then we’re thrown
into the UK based quintet that is Burning Skies. They seem to
have made it big in the UK and Europe through extensive
gigging which I personally think is the only way you’re going
to ever reach out to new fans, though having a million
pound/dollar deal and thousands upon thousands of albums being
sold could help too.
The album itself is of course what you’re here to read about.
I can’t fault it in anyway. The musicianship is excellent and
the production is simply elegant. Nothing more, nothing less. |
There
comes a point though, whether it be the beginning of the album
or through a steady progression of the songs, that you wonder
if this band is more hardcore, metalcore or can be
labelled death metal. I personally don’t like labels much, not
even the Nike ones. I’d have to say though for those of you
that find that labels matter (not what the music sounds like)
that Burning Skies are hardcore. There’s no two ways about it.
They are very similar to Throwdown, Dismember, Dissection and
even Stamping Ground in some respects and simply burst through
track after track with emphasis on bursting.
Merv's vocals grind your senses and instil a pleasant aura
of hard comfort, whilst the guitar work from Liam and Ben
(also backing vocals) simply makes you go wide eyed and revel
in the wonders of stringed instruments and their capabilities. Andie's
bass pumps through like a reservoir of water
jetting from a hose into your face and Phil (great name) on drums
can only be described as; stamina-man.
The tracks are punchy and raw and speedy enough to rock out
to, Damaged being a favourite of mine, for the drum beats
toward the end along with the guitar solos. Bonus. You can’t
beat a good blast beat and Phil makes it better than good.
Burning Skies are a band to look out, they have what it takes
to make you move, to make you scream and to make you think and
feel. Overall they come into their own light with their new
album Desolation, but also with their previous EP Premonition
of Things to Come. Check them out since they’ve given us a lot
to think about and a lot to scream to.
www.burningskies.co.uk |
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Draconian - The Burning Halo (Napalm
Records) Review by Steve Green |
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This release is a
kind of stop-gap album until the third Draconian studio album
"proper" is released. But you can forget it being a
sub-standard release as I think it's the best thing the band
have released so far. Consisting of 3 new tracks, 3 re-worked
tracks from their demo days and two cover versions, its an
absolute delight to listen to.
If you've not heard Draconian before, they're a doom band from
Sweden that hark back to the days when Paradise Lost reigned
supreme and to when My Dying Bride were a tad heavier and
gloomier. I guess it's not that surprising considering that
Draconian were formed back the melancholic heydays of 1994.
Opener She Dies reeks of that era and is a |
splendidly morose reminder of one of my favourite musical
periods, probably only second to the explosion of thrash and
speed metal in the early 80s. And I have to say that I've
always been a fan of Lisa Johansson's voice, but on She Dies,
the lady sounds unbelievably good and her vocal performance
takes me back to Sharon den Adel's on Within Temptations debut
album Enter, which having now thought of that, the song is of
a similar ilk too. Through Infectious Waters (A Sickness
Elegy) is a more upbeat, intense number, with more than a
heavy serving of My Dying Bride. With these comparisons, it's
obvious that I don't think Draconian are the most original
band in the world. It's something I've always thought about
them, but they make such damn good music I don't really care.
Completing the trio of new numbers is the doom laden The
Dying. Again it's a great male and female duet with Anders
Jacobsson growling deeper than many a death metal vocalist,
albeit at a much slower pace. This is doom after all.
The three demo tracks are from an unreleased demo dating back
to 1999, entitled The Closed Eyes of Paradise. Serenade of
Sorrow is much more Gothic than Doom, and once again I'm left
thinking of early Within Temptation, especially with the
female vocal comparison. Both The Morningtar and especially
The Gothic Embrace flit between both Goth and Doom and are
both worthy inclusions as examples of a fledgling bands
direction and early attempts at the craftsmanship of song
writing.
The two cover version are from the 70s. I've never heard of
Dutch band Ekseption, but Draconian's take on their 1970 song
On Sunday They Will Kill the World is as bleak as can be,
especially with Anders Jacobsson's deathly growl, it's only
the female vocals that shed any light on this slab of
darkness. A cover of Pentagram's Forever My Queen, a favourite
of Draconian's main songwriter Johan Ericson, is a fun
sub-three minute blast through an old classic and is a fine
way to end one of my favourite albums of the year so far.
www.napalmrecords.com |
www.draconian.se |
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Dream Evil - United (Century Media)
By: Joe Florez |
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I can’t believe in the short time of their existence that they
have rolled out four discs. The best part is that each time I
want to hate their latest offering, I get sucked into their
music more and more. For a minute, it looked like the 80s
inspired pure metal group was going to disband thanks to Snowy
Shaw leaving his drum sticks behind for his own interest and
guitar warrior Gus G. just has too much on his plate right
now. The good thing about this music is that it’s not too
complicated and anyone can fill in their shoes and do just as
good of a job as the former mates. Enter Pat Power bashing the
skins and Mark Black on the axe. Not too much is known about
these cats, but they help mold the band to become more |
vicious
than ever. Famed producer Fredrik Nordstrom’s band will not
crumble to pieces.
The cheesy titles continue to be pressed on paper, but prove
to be just as entertaining as before. Lead track “Fire!
Battle! In Metal!” will definitely be a crowd pleaser in the
live circuit as people who listen to true metal will eat this
up and no doubt be the anthem for metal fans across the world
in any genre. The chorus is simple, but more than effective.
Even though there aren’t super duper fast licks and beating
going around. It’s perfectly mid paced with easy to swallow
licks that also shine brightly during the solo. The drumming
is heavy and loud, but fits nice and snug like a piece of a
puzzle. Infectious indeed. The title cut isn’t as quick as
track numero uno, but once again everything
you need to make this memorable is here: great harmonies,
simplistic lyrics that everyone can relate to and more fun
songwriting skills that will easily have this tattooed in your
brain for a long time to come. What is funny is that unlike
the past material, the music represented here is a bit more
mature and not as childish . Sure, the 80s influence runs
amok from pillar to post on here, but it’s done more
effectively and even if you aren’t a true fan of this
particular genre, you can get into this a lot easier. The one
song on here I like the most is “Let Me Out” due to the fact
that the six string action on here is tougher than a two
dollar steak and a more aggressive side is exposed on here
from all participants. All I have to say is that I can digest
this much easier than a Hammerfall release no matter how lame
it can get. Massive horns up to everyone on here including
lead crooner Niklas whose voice is strong and manly and never
gets whine at any given moment. I guess the front cover of the
disc says it all. You will be treated to a fistful of metal
and boy do they deliver. Two quick notes that need to be
pointed out. The first edition of this release will include a
bonus disc with five exclusive cuts. Also, that ghost of Gus
G. past comes to life one last time on the disc closer “ My
Number One.” Simply enjoyable.
www.centurymedia.com
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