| MUSIC REVIEWS December 2008 |
| ANAEL - FROM ARCANE FIRES (7 track CD) PARAGON RECORDS ANAEL play some very dark Occult Black Metal in an old school style. The music is very harsh at times that is thrown up in your face, while other times it's a bit slower more gloomy & almost Doom Metal like with sludgy parts all mixed through out. There are also some very epic war like Metal parts that engulph the bands sound too. The vocals follow the same path as the music. Most of the vocals are done in a harsh throaty Black Metal growl scream, but there are some more melodic almost Goth like clean vocals too. This is one for all old school Black Metal hordes! www.ANAEL.de |
| BIBLE OF THE DEVIL - FREEDOM METAL (8 track CD) CRUZ DEL SUR MUSIC BIBLE OF THE DEVIL play a very cool fast paced rockin' Metal style of music. The music has an old school 80's vibe that has been injected with Modern Metal along with elements of Thrash, Progressive & straight forward Heavy Metal. There is a gritty & dirty almost biker bar band vibe that blankets their sound. The vocals are done in a mid ranged clean Progressive Thrash Metal style with some lower & higher pitched parts. These guys are very cool & have a sound you don't hear too often. Check these guys out, cause they are very under rated & deserve more attention than they get! |
| BLOODSWORN - ALL HYLLEST TIL SATAN (7 track CD) AGONIA RECORDS BLOODSWORN is an old school Black Metal band that's been around for over 10 years. This release is actual material that was created back in 1999. It was remixed in 2007 & release just recently. The music is very fast paced, cold & noisy old school Black Metal. There is a strong war & satanic vibe to their sound that flows all through out. There is also a mechanical & static style to their music too. The vocals are done in a mid ranged groggy Black Metal growl with some mid ranged to higher Black metal screams. This is another one for old school Black metal hordes! www.myspace.com/BLOODSWORN666 |
| CEREBRAL TURBULENCY - SEGREGACE K NINE (17 track CD) KHAARANUS PRODUCTIONS I was happy & sad to recieve this CD for review. I have always dug these guys a lot & their intense & spastic form of Grindcore, but sad to find out this is the bands release, for they have broken up. These guys hail from Czech Republic & have always been one of the better bands playing this style & also from that country. The music is ultra fast, tight, spastic & gives the listener one hell of a beaten. They even toss in some slightly slower grooves into all the chaos. The vocals are mid ranged Death growls & screams with some higher Grindcore screams. Another one of the best bands layed to rest! http://bandzone.cz/CEREBRALTURBULENCY |
| CHRIST INVERSION - SELF TITLED (8 track CD) HOUSECORE RECORDS back in 1993 saw the birth of this New Orleans band CHRIST INVERSION. The band features Phil Anselmo from PANTERA, DOWN & SUPERJOINT RITUAL on guitar. The band also features members of GRAVEYARD RODEO & NECROPHAGIA. The music is done in an old school raw Black Metal style filled with hate for Chritianity! There is an extreme primitive vibe to their music that old school Black Metal fans will be happy about. The cold harshness just chills you. The vocals are a harsh throaty screaming growl Black Metal style. True Black Metal fans of past, this is for you! www.myspace.com/CHRISTINVERSIONofficial |
| DAYS OF BETRAYAL - DECAPITATED FOR RESEARCH (10 track CD) SHIVER RECORDS Hailing from Belgium comes DAYS OF BETRAYAL. These guys play a very cool sounding new school style of Death Metal music. On this, the bands first full length they kick out some hyper fast, aggressive, powerful & harsh sounding Death Metal. They are definately in the new wave of Death bands that have emerged over the past 5 years. The music is tight with lots of change ups, breakdowns & tempo changes. The vocals are done in a mid ranged Death growl with some harsh Death Metal screams. For fans of HEAVEN SHALL BURN, THE FACELESS & JOB FOR A COWBOY! www.DAYSOFBETRAYAL.com |
| DEAD BY WENESDAY - THE KILLING PROJECT (13 track CD) ECLIPSE RECORDS This is the second full length release from this Conetticut based Metal band. These guys are here to punch the Metal scene in the face & send it in a new direction. The music is very political based in the lyrics, but it takes you beyond all the crap that is force fed to us by the media. The music itself has a crunchy Metal sound that infuses elements of Hardcore all through out. There are lots of killer grooves, breakdowns, tempo changes & more. The two vocalist combine their styles of Metal & Hardcore together. This is another band that should be a lot bigger than they are! www.DEADBYWEDNESDAY.com |
| DIRTFEDD - THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE (11 track CD) KOCH ENTERTAINMENT / SOPRA EVIL RECORDS DIRTFEDD formed back in April 2002 & has since gone through some changes. When new members joined the band it drove them in a new direction to create more intense, creative & solid music. Their music is planted in the Metal vein that pull influences from lots of different Metal genres. They mostly have a Modern Metal style that incorporates some Hardcore, Nu-Metal & Death Metal elements. The vocals follow the same path as the music. I could really see these guys getting huge. For fans of SLIPKNOT, LAMB OF GOD, HATEBREED & MUDVAYNE! www.myspace.com/DIRTFEDD |
| HADES - BOOTLEGGED IN BOSTON 1988 (7 track DVD) CRUZ DEL SUR MUSIC HADES has been around since the late 70's & has been shredding out some killer Metal ever since. They play a form of Traditional Heavy metal with mixes of Thrash, Power & Progressive Metal all mixed in. They have a lot of shredding catchy riffing all through out. The vocals are done in a mix of all the above styles as well. This DVD is an actual bootleg of the bands performance in Boston from 1988. It's a bit raw & scetchy at times, but it's a bootleg. The DVD also includes a "BEHIND THE METAL" documentary filmed during the recording of "THE DOWNSIDE". This is a must for true fans of the band HADES! |
| GAMMARAY - HELL YEAH! THE AWESOME FOURSOME (18 track 2 DVD set) SPV RECORDS This is the DVD version release of the CD that I reviewed last month. The DVD is a bit better because you get so much more than just the live set that's on the CD. GAMMARAY play a very tight, intricate & well thought out style of Power Thrash Metal music. This is a live show recorded in Montreal Canada on May 6th 2006. The live set on disc one contains 18 tracks & is over 120 minutes long. On disc two you Road Movie, a documentary of the North American tour 2006. Video Clips for 8 songs, Live @ Wacken Open Air 2003 & 2006 plus a 47 minute Historay of the band! www.GAMMARAY.org |
| JANUS - RED RIGHT RETURN (10 track CD) GLASS BOTTOM BOAT RECORDS JANUS has deployed their 2nd release to the masses. This new release is for of a fresh sound being injected into the Metal genre. The music has a kind of cold melodic vibe to it, but at the same time adding in etheral backdrops covered in aggressive heavy rhythms. They definately brind something a bit different to the scene. The vocals are done mostly in the melodic style with a few louder aggressive vocals at times. The closest comparison would be if 30 SECONDS TO MARS & MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE were to combine into one group! www.JANUSmusic.com |
| KREATOR - HORDES OF CHAOS (10 track CD) SPV RECORDS The mighty KREATOR is back with another amazingly intense release. What can be said about these guys one of the greatest Thrash bands ever? Thier music is very intricate with intelligent song writing & well thought out lyrics about war propaganda. These guys have been pumping out great album after great album since the early 80's & from the sounds of this new album I don't think they will be stopping any time soon. If your into Thrash Metal then you should already know of these guys & be a fan. if your not then pick up this album & you will quickly become one. One of the best bands ever, still going strong & better than many out there now. Buy this album! 'Nuff said! www.KREATOR-terrorzone.de |
| LOST IN BLUE - SELF TITLED (8 track CD) Self Released This is the new release from this Chicago based Instrumental Metal band. These guys cover different genres of Metal in their sound that which all has a distinctly dark & heavy sound. The music is very well structured with lots of melody, shredding, tempo changes & more. These guys couldn't find a rightful singer to help bring their music to life & went out with out one.Vocals would just take away from the amaingly good songs these guys have created. They blend their influences of BLACK SABBATH, IRON MAIDEN, IN FLAMES, MAYHEM, PINK FLOYD & more all into their sound! www.LOSTINBLUE.com |
| MALECODA - THE HORDES OF ANNIHILATION (5 track CD) Self Released MALECODA play an different style of Death Metal music than most out there. They incorporate a lot of Progressive elements into their sound. This mostly comes through in the guitar work. There are also lots of Thrash Metal influences present all through out. The music is very fast, aggressive & has an old school Death Metal feel to it with some new school flavoring. The vocals are a mid ranged Death growl style with some lower ended ones mixed in. These guys can definately hold their own with any of the major names in the Death Metal genre! www.MALECODA.com |
| MYRKVAR - ALS EEN WOESTE HORDE (9 track CD) SHIVER RECORDS MYRKVAR started back in 2003 as a traditional Black metal band. Over the years with many band member changes the band has shifted paths a little by heading more into the Folk Metal style. They are still playing Black metal music, but there is a lot more Folk Metal mixed in their sound. They have also incorporated violins & keyboards into their sound. There are even some clean vocals to accompany the harsh Black Metal vocals. There are some chant & sing along chorous as well as even some dancable parts. This is a great Folk Metal band in the vein of ELUVEITIE & ENSIRFERUM! www.MYRKVAR.nl |
| NECROBLASPHEME - DESTINATION: NULLE PART (9 track CD) AGONIA RECORDS This is the debut CD release from this French Death Metal band on AGONIA RECORDS. These guys are definately in the Death metal genre, but they play a style that mixes in many elements of Grindcore as well as some Doom Metal influences. The music is very fast & crunchy at times with lots of low ended grooves. At other times it will creep along in a Death Doom style. The vocals are done in a Death growl style crossed over with a Grindcore type scream style. These guys are one of the better bands I've heard come out of France in a long time! www.NECROBLASPHEME.com |
| ROBOT LORDS OF TOKYO - WHISKEY, BLOOD & NAPALM (10 track CD) Self Released The ROBOT LORDS are back with their second CD release. This Ohio based band have continued their "PROBOT-like" approach & have gathered some of the best talents of the Midwest as guest musicians. They have guest from AMERICAN DOG, MAGNITUDE 9, ICARUS WITCH,ORDER OF NINE & more. They once agin continued with their dirty whiskey soaked brand of Metal music that is straight out great, aggressive, grooving Metal through & through. The vocals are done in a raspy rough melodic Metal style. This is a must listen for every Metal fan out there. These guys kick ass! www.ROBOTLORDSOFTOKYO.com |
| ROSS THE BOSS - NEW METAL LEADER (11 track CD) CANDLELIGHT USA This is a solo album from one of the original members of MANOWAR. Ross has been in music since the early 70's & was also a member of the band THE DICTATORS. This new band is a full band & not just himself doing all the work. ROSS THE BOSS continus some what the tradition he made in MANOWAR with fist pounding battle hymns done in a Traditional Heavy Metal & Power Metal style. The vocals are also done in the above styles. This is one that many fans of MANOWAR will love, but it will definately pull in some new fans as well. www.ROSSTHEBOSS.com |
| SATANIST - SADOMASOCHRIST (10 track CD) NEGATIVITY RECORDS SATANIST play true Alaskan Black Metal music. These guys are the first Black Metal band I have ever heard from Alaska. It's very dark, cold & harsh sounding, just like Black Metal should be. The music is tight, strongly structured & smashes you in the face. They have an old school pissed off satanic, obviously, approach to their sound. The vocals are done in a mid ranged groggy Black Metal growl/scream crossover style. This is a must for all old school true Black Metal hordes! www.SATANIST666.com |
| SINNER - CRASH & BURN (11 track CD) CANDLELIGHT RECORDS SINNER has been churning out consistingly good music since 1983. This is the bands newest release since 2003. They play a adrenaline fueld form of Hard Rock mixed with Traditional Metal music. There is a lot of grooving rhythms in their songs & some cool shredding parts too. The vocals are done in a mid ranged clean sometimes melodic Metal style. The band also features members of PRIMAL FEAR. If your a fan of the bands past releases than you will surely enjoy this new release. It's their best release in awhile! www.myspace.com/SINNERofficial |
| SOL EVIL - SANCTUS SATANAS (13 track CD) ANTI XTIAN TERROR RECORDS This CD is a compilation of the bands demo, live & unreleased material. It contains 65 minutes of true Satanic Black Metal music. The vocalist & guitarist have been in prison since 2003 for trying to kill a former band member. These guys aren't fucking around. The music is done in an old school Black metal tradition & is raw, aggressive & dark as hell! The vocals are done in a mid ranged Black / Death Metal crosoover style. These guys are pure satanic evil & will suck you in & strangle the shit out of you. This is for all true Black Metal hordes that think they can handle this! You've been warned! myspace.com/SOLEVIL |
| THE RECKONING - COUNTERBLAST (10 track CD) SHIVER RECORDS Hailing from Belgium comes this hyper intense Blackened Thrash metal band. They base their sound strongly in the Thrash Metal genre, but then cover it with many Black Metal elements & then even inject some Death Metal influences into the sound. The music is really fast paced, high adrenaline & sometimes spastic. The vocals are mostly done in a mid ranged harsh Thrash/Black Metal crossover style. These guys totally blew me away & gave my ears one relentless beating that I enjoyed all the way through. These guys deserve a lot of attention & I hope they get it! One truly amazing band in every aspect. Listen to these guys loud & often! www.THERECKONING.be |