| MUSIC REVIEWS (December 2003) |
| ADIPOCERE PRESENTE COMPILATION - INNATE VI (21 song CD) ADIPOCERE RECORDS / INNATE This si a compilation CD put out by ADIPOCERE RECORDS for INNATE MAGAZINE. The music featured here is all in the form of Black Metal, Death Metal, Grindcore & more. There are 21 songs & 21 bands featured here. Some bands include: KIJU, FINNUGOR, EVER SINCE, BLOOD, BERSERK, MALEFACTOR & 15 other bands. The bands all appear courtesy of their different labels & the songs are taken from their most recent releases. There is also a fanzine CD rom on the disc!!! - BP2 / 30150 ST. GENIES DE COMOLAS / FRANCE / INNATEZINE@aol.com // BP2 / 01540 VONNAS / FRANCE / ADIPOCERE@wanadoo.fr ATTILA CSIHAR - THE BEAST OF... (14 song CD) SOUTHERNLORD RECORDS I was actually a little surprised to find this release on SOUTHERN LORD RECORDS. This label mostly releases Doom or Stoner Metal. ATTILA CSIHAR is some very different sounding Black Metal music. The music has a very raw aggressive sound which at times is quite dark & cold sounding. There are some Death Metal & Industrial influences present all through out their songs as well. The vocals are done in a mid ranged Goth/Black Metal type growl with some higher Black Metal screams tossed in. Some of the other bands ATTILA CSIHAR was in include: TORMENTOR, MAYHEM, PLASMA POOL, ABORYM & more. You know your in for some good original Black Metal music once you've heard the other bands he's played in! This disc is a compilation of songs from those bands!!! BEHOLD...THE ARCTOPUS - ARCTOPOCALYPSE NOW...WORMAGEDDON LATER (2 song CD) This is a two song three inch CD release from this band out of the New Jersey & New York area. The music is all done instrumental & in the style of Jazz Fusion with lots of different Metal styles tossed in. There are some Death Metal, Thrash Metal, Grindcore & Progressive Metal elements present through out. The music is hyper fast & intense. It almost reminded me of CANDIRIA & TESTAMENT combined, just with out vocals. This is a cool mix to me!!! - info@BEHOLDTHEARCTOPUS.com / www.BEHOLDTHEARCTOPUS.com BERSERK - RITES OF SUPREMACY (7 song CD) ADIPOCERE RECORDS Once again ADIPOCERE RECORDS is quickly becoming one of my favorite underground labels. They release nothing but quality & intense Black Metal & Death Metal bands. BERSERK hail from Spain & play some very technical & tight sounding Black Metal music. This is the bands second CD release to date. The music is quite dark & dreary sounding War Metal with lots of twists & turns. They intertwin some more epic like battle sounds with all out aggressive war/battle sounds. I like the couldness the music had through out. The vocals are done in a mid ranged Black Metal growl style with some more melodic Black Metal vocals. Their lyrics deal with the fight against Christianity, being based upon the predominant cultures in Celtiberia, before the invaders arrival. All Black Metal hordes should raise their horns towards BERSERK!!! - P.O. BOX 438 / 13080 CIVDAD REAL / SPAIN / BERSERKhorde@yahoo.es / www.BERSERKhorde.com BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME - THE SILENT CIRCUS (10 song CD) VICTORY RECORDS Wow! This is more like it! VICTORY has unleashed probably their best release this year with this album. These guys play a very intense, aggressive & brutal crossover style of Death Metal & Hardcore music. I love this style & these guys are every reason why I love it. Their music is very chaotic at times & at others very groovy & soothing. There are tons of Breakdowns, stop & starts, slow to fast, blasts, grooves, you name it, these guys have it! The music is very tight, technical & just down right amazing. The vocals are done in the best blend of Death Metal & Hardcore styles I've ever heard. This is by far the best release VICTORY has put out in awhile. I love this band & highly recommend everyone to get this disc!!! - BETWEENTHEBURIED@hotmail.com / www.BETWEENTHEBURIEDANDME.com BLODSRIT - OCULARIS INFERNUM (9 song CD) OAKEN SHIELD / ADIPOCERE RECORDS I've heard past releases from this band & was highly impressed. This new release is even more impressive & blows away all their past releases together. This band hails from Sweden & play some of the best Viking Black Metal ever. The music is hyper fast, aggressive & highly intense. They spew forth tons of evil brutalness with each new song. There is a strong rawness & battle like feel in their style of Black Metal as well. The vocals are done in a very harsh mid ranged Black Metal growl/scream style! This is a must for any fan of true Viking Black Metal music!!! - info@BLODSRIT.com / www.BLODSRIT.com BOB EGLER - SELF TITLED (10 song CD) Bob plays some highly intense Death Metal music. I believe Bob has done all the instruments, vocals & written every song on this disc. The music is done in an old school Death Metal style with some new school Death Metal tossed in. The vocals are done in a low end Death Metal growl style. This is some great Death Metal music with lots of variety & grooves. I liked how he mixed up the different styles of Death Metal all into one. This is yet another great musician that does the Pennsylvania music scene proud. Check this stuff out!!! - 17 CORNALI DRIVE / LATROBE, PA. 15650 / EGLER@winbeam.com CAGE - DARKER THAN BLACK (13 song CD) DESERT ROCK PROMOTIONS / FUGITIVE RECORDS CAGE blew me away once I popped this disc in. These guys play some very excellent Heavy Metal music with lots of Power/ Progressive & Thrash Metal influences tossed in. The music is amazing. This is the style of Metal I grew up on & made me truely love & appreciate Metal 7 music in general. The music is very involved, technical & super tight! there are some melodic parts, shredding parts & even some grooving parts. The vocals are a combination of melodic Heavy Metal, higher pitched Power Metal, harsh Thrash Metal & even some slight Black Metal & Death Metal vocals. Any fan of IRON MAIDEN & JUDAS PRIEST will wet themselves once they hear these guys. CAGE has released the best Heavy Metal album I've heard all year! This is great & a must for any Metal fan!!! - P.O. BOX 83997 / SAN DIEGO, CA. 92138 / www.CAGEheavymetal.com CEREBRAL TURBULENCY - GERM OF ERROR (13 song CD) KHAARANUS PRODUCTIONS I love this Grindcore band out of the Czech republic. I'm a huge fan of the Czech republic Grindcore scene & these guys are definately one of the best. They play hyper fast, sonic speed Grindcore music. They do toss in some Death Metal elements all through out their songs as well. These guys are insane. they are like a Death Metal band on crack 24-7. I love the intensity pouring out of this band too. The vocals are a combination of low Death growls & mid to high Grindcore screams. Any fan of the Czech Republic Grindcore scene & bands like NAZUM, ALIENATION MENTAL, SANITY'S DAWN & DEAD INFECTION will love this band!!! - http://CEREBRAL.webpark.cz CRITERIA - EN GARDE (10 song CD) INITIAL RECORDS this band features Stephen Pedersen of the bands CURSIVE & THE WHITE OCTAVE. The music style here is a weird mix of Pop/Punk & a little bit Stoner/Doom metal. It's hard to explain the sound of this band. I here some Metal/Punk in the guitars, but the drums & bass have a Stoner/Doom vibe, but faster sounding. The vocals are done in a melodic Punk/Emo style with some New wave Pop mixed in. They sound like a mixture of QUICKSAND, old HELMET, WEEZER, THE CARS & THE CURE. This is weird huh?, but that's what it sounds like!!! - www.CRITERIAmusic.com DARK DISCIPLE - UNHOLY HATE GORE (10 song CD) Damn! DARK DISCIPLE has really improved upon their sound a lot on this new release. These guys play a great blend of Death Metal & Black Metal mixed together. They have some ultra heavy & sick as hell rythms, beats & crushing grooves. I didn't think these guys could get any better than their last release (which was a great release), but they did, big time! The vocals are done in a mid ranged Death growl style with some groggy Death screams. The songs are much tighter & more technical on this release as well. This band just keeps pushing themselves & get better with each release! Any Death Metal fan would be pleased with this release! - earlz@toad.net / www.DARKDISCIPLE.com |