| MUSIC REVIEWS (July 2004) |
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| ARS MACABRA - PROMO (3 song CD) Hailing from Italy & spewing forth some extremely intense Black Metal comes ARS MACABRA. This three song promo contains songs from their forthcoming debut full length CD called "DAEMONOLATRIA HYPNOTICA". These guys play ultra sick Black metal all the way. They do toss in some elements of Grindcore & Death Metal as well. The music is very fast, aggressive & brutal as hell! The vocals are done in a mid ranged Black/Death Metal growl along with some high pitched Black metal screams. I am really looking forward to their full length album after hearing this promo!!! info@ARSMACABRA.com / www.ARSMACABRA.com |
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| CANS - BEYOND THE GATE (12 song CD) NOISE RECORDS / SANCTUARY RECORDS CANS is the name of the new side project of HAMMERFALL vocalist Joacim Cans. This new project is in the vein of Power Progressive Metal, but they do add a little bit heavier & a little bit darker stuff than HAMMERFALL. He has gathered a bunch of well established & highly talented musicians to help collaborate with him. The music is very technical & quite involved sounding. The vocals are done in a very melodic & strong Power Metal style. With Cans at the helm & the help of members of PRIMAL FEAR, FATES WARNING, HALFORD & HAMMERFALL, how could you go wrong! This maybe one of the best Power metal albums I've heard in a long time!!! - www.JOACIMCANS.com |
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| CONGLOMERATORZ - 3 SONG PROMO (3 song CD) JAMBERT PRODUCTIONS CONGLOMERATORZ hail from Illinoze & play some very aggressive styled Metal music. They combine many elements of Thrash, Power, Nu-Metal & Death all built around a Progressive Metal core. I really enjoyed the cool grooves & Thrash metal guitar sounds they have. The music is very technical sounding all through out. The vocals are done in a Hardcore mixed with Nu-Metal & touches of Death Metal styles. I'd like to hear more from these guys in the future!!! - P.O. BOX 493 / NEW LENOX, IL. 60451 / robj@jambert.com / www.CONGLOMERATORZ.com |
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| DANGER FREE ANIMALS - DEMO-XTRACCION (4 song CD) I wasn't really sure what to expect from these guys. I guess I thought They would be an Industrial band or something. These guys play old school Death Metal music. They blend a lot of Thrash Metal elements into their Death Metal sound. They have a very thick solid & chunky bass dominate sound, which I loved a lot. The vocals are done in some Thrash metal styles, with mostly old school Death Metal growls. D.F.A. reminded me of bands like EXHORDER, DISINCARNATE, SINISTER & a band from my home state called ORCUS. I would really like to hear more from this band!!! - oscarDFA@ritmes.net / www.DANGERFREEANIMALS.com |
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| DESTINITY - IN EXCELSIS DEMENTIA (10 song CD) ADIPOCERE RECORDS Out of the blackness of France comes DESTINITY with an onslought of amazingly good Black Metal music. These guys have a very technical & symphonic sound to their Black Metal style. The guys also toss in lots of elements of Death Metal as well. The music goes from soft atmospheric Black Metal into all out attacks of Death Metal mayhem. The vocals are done in a harsh Black Metal growl/scream & melodic Black Metal vocals. These guys have always been one of my favorite bands out of France & this new album is all you need to see why!!! A great disc which every Black Metal collection should possess!!! - 1, IMPASSE FONTANIERE / 69100 VILLGURBANNE / FRANCE / DESTINITY66@hotmail.com / DESTINITY.fr.st |
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| DIVINATION - THREE NAILS OF FATE (8 song CD) DRP RECORDS I'm glad to see these guys are still going strong. DIVINATION is an extremely good Death Metal band from pennsylvania. My old band FAMILY OF FREAKS was supposed to play a show with these guys back in 1995, but it never went through. The guys have changed their sound a bit on this new release. They have gotten much heavier, more brutal & more technical as well. They have a great combination of old school & new school Death Metal in their sound. The vocals are done in a mid ranged Death growl & a higher pitched Death scream. This disc is by far better than anything they have put out in the past. Check these guys out & you'll here one of Pennsylvania's Death Metal bands!!! - 38 W LANCASTER AVE. / SHILLINGTON, PA. 19607 / DIVINEEND@cs.com / www.DIVINATIONmetal.com |
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| DRAGON FORCE - SONIC FIRESTORM (8 song CD) NOISE RECORDS / SANCTUARY RECORDS DRAGONFORCE is based out of London England & play a very different style of Power Metal music. This could be that the band features a multi cultural line up from Hong Kong, UK, New Zealand, South Africa & Ukraine. I loved the strong old school aggression & shredding mixed with the new school technicallity. They do toss in a lot of Progressive Metal & Thrash Metal aspects all through out. My favorite part was the dualing guitar assaults in the songs. This surprised me cause I'm usually more into the bass & drum sounds. The vocals cross over into Thrash, Power & Progressive Metal styles. For such a young band, they have such an experienced sound & reminded me of a lot of the older bands I was into when I first became a Metalhead. Every Metal fan should have this in their collection!!! - www.DRAGONFORCE.com |
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| DROTTNAR - ANAMORPHOSIS (4 song CD) MOMENTUM SCANDINAVIA This is yet another great Black Metal band from this label. These guys play ultra fast & tight as hell Black Metal music. They do toss in some dark Rock & untraditional technical Metal as well. This is in no way your typical Black Metal band. The vocals are done in a mid ranged Black Metal growl & higher pitched Black metal screams. Just think of ENTOMBED, IMMORTAL & EMPEROR becoming one super group! That's what these guys sound like!!! - BERJMANNSVELEN 18 / N-1634 GAMIE FREDRIKSTAD / NORWAY / mail@DROTTNAR.com / www.DROTTNAR.com |
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| ELLIPSIS - FROM BEYOND THEMATICS (10 song CD) ADIPOCERE RECORDS Here we have another great band to emerge out of France. ELLIPSIS play some psycho Metal Prog-symphonique styled music. The music has a very strong epic feel through out the whole disc. They have a solid, tight & technical Progressive Metal sound. There are even some elements of Traditional & thrash Metal music present at times. I loved the chugging & powerful guitar sound a lot. The vocals are a mix of harsh Thrash/Black metal crossover vocals & melodic Power Metal vocals. All Prog-Metal will surely love this band!!! - axisthema@wanadoo.fr / www.ELLIPSIS-music.com |