| MUSIC REVIEWS March 2005 |
| BARZAKH - SELF TITLED (4 song CD) SELF RELEASED Hailing out of the pits of darkness in Indonesia comes this sick Black Metal band. These guys blend lots of melodic atmospheric stuff with pure evil brutality! The music takes influences from old school & new school Black Metal music. There is a cold dark feel to their sound as well. The vocals go from low Black Metal growls, to harsh Black Metal screams & into some mid ranged Black Metal haunts. These guys are very good & very intense!!! - JL. LONTAR ATAS/RT 09 RW 012 NO. 128 / JAKARTA PUSAT 10230 / INDONESIA BARZAKH97@yahoo.com / cilitans3@yahoo.com / agni_metal@yahoo.com / adevmetal@yahoo.com / www.BARZAKH97.cjb.net |
| CENOTAPH - PSEUDO VERMINAL CADAVERIUM (9 song CD) UNITED GUTTURAL RECORDS / DRAIN PRODUCTIONS It's been awhile since I heard something from this great band. These guys play ultra sick Death Grind music. The music is very intense Grindcore music, laced with lots of Death Metal elements. The music is fast paced all through out with some grooves, lots of blasts & a few breakdowns. The vocals are done in a really low end groggy Death Grindcore type growl. This is by far the best CD release these guys have put out so far. If you like your Death Grind covered in gore, then this band is for you, because they deliver big time!!! - SIEZENHEIMERSTRASSE 57/P / 5020 SALZBURG / AUSTRIA / batucetin@hotmail.com / batucetin@yahoo.com / CENOTAPHtur@hotmail.com / cemdur@yahoo.com / www.CENOTAPH.cjb.net (Available through BEOWOLF PRODUCTIONS) |
| AN - REVELATION 1: WORLD MINUS POPULATION (6 song CD) PLAGUE PRODUCTIONS AN comes to us from Finalnd & play some very good Black metal music. The music has an old school Black Metal feel to it. The music is very cold, dim & dark feeling all through out. There are some Death Metal elements present in their songs as well. I do hear some Thrash metal influences present too, especially in the guitar sounds. The vocals are very cold & hallowed Black metal growls with a Black metal scream here & there. This would definately be one for all old school Black metal heads to pick up!!! - www.ANhq.cjb.net |
| BLOODOLINE - STORM & BRILLIANCE (13 song CD) BLACKENED RECORDS This is the first album release from these guys based out of Madrid Spain. This is the brain child of Ghoul Luyer & Entity. These two guys have spewed forth some very intense & insane Black Metal music. The music is very fast paced & chaotic sounding. There is some atmospheric parts in between all the chaos too. The vocals are done in a harsh & spastic Black metal style. These two guys have created some really good evil Black Metal music!!! - BLOODOLINE@BLOODOLINE.com / www.BLOODOLINE.com |
| DARK MASS - DARK MASS MEDIUM (7 song CD) PZDTS RECORDS DARK MASS hails from the Ukraine & play what they like to call "Hyper Metal". The band is an all instrumental act, with no vocals what so ever. The music is actually made up of elements of Thrash, Death & Balck metal musical styles. I can hear at times some Progressive Metal elements also coming out in the music. There are a lot of different change ups & fast hyper blasts, plus slow more melodic & almost spacey sounds. These guys are very good & would really have to find an excellent vocalist to match up with their music. - DARKMASS@rambler.ru / www.DARKMASS.nm.ru |
| DAWN OF AZAZEL - THE LAW OF THE STRONG (8 song CD) AGONIA RECORDS This is the newest CD release from this amazing Death Metal band out of New Zealand. These guys are extremely psycho sounding & extremely aggressive. The music has touches of Black Metal & Grindcore also in the mix. There are hyper blasts, tons of raw pure adrenaline, lots of stop & starts & intense vocals. The vocals are done in a crossover style of Death/Black & Grind & are a mix of growls & screams. These guys are yet another great band to emrge from New Zealand!!! - P.O. BOX 34 -939 / AUCKLAND / NEW ZEALAND / DAWNOFAZAZEL@hotmail.com / www.DAWNOFAZAZEL.orcon.net.nz (Available through BEOWOLF PRODUCTIONS) |
| DREAMING IN RED - SILENCE BEFORE... (10 song CD) PIKAZ RECORDS Emerging out of Luxomburg Europe comes this great Death Metal band.These guys have been in the scene for awhile, but this is their first CD release. The guys have a very technical sound to their style of Death Metal music. They also toss in elements of Thrash & Doom Metal as well. They have some really slow melodic parts in then they will hit you sevearly with a wall of heavy brutal blasts & more. These guys are very good & well diverse enough to please fans of all styles of Death Metal music. These guys need to be heard!!! - 100, RUE DES MARAICHERS / L-2124 LUXEMBURG / EUROPE / hoffip@DREAMING-IN-RED.com / www.DREAMING-IN-RED.com |
| ETERNAL FROST RECORDS COMPILATION - VOLUME 2 (11 song CD) ETERNAL FROST RECORDS This is the second volume in this compilation series from ETERNAL FROST RECORDS. The compilation contains 11 songs from 11 bands. The bands featured include LOW TWELVE, ANGELFIRE, GALLOWS EDGE, FALLEN EMPIRE, DEATH BY HATE, LUMINARY & five other bands. The music is all done in the Death Metal vein, from these bands. The compilation contains all the bands websites & email addresses. Check out this cool compilation to hear some really cool bands!!! - icetitan@graffiti.net / www.ETERNALFROSTRECORDS.cjb.net |
| FALLEN EMPIRE - SKEPTICISM (4 song CD) ETERNAL FROST RECORDS This young band out of Illinoise plays very aggressive Death Metal music mixed with Black Metal influences. The music is very tight, solid & some what technical sounding. They mix lots of brutalness in with some melodic & atmospheric parts. They tend to lean more towards the Death Metal side & use Black Metal elements to flavor their sound. This is a very good band that should be wtached. They will keep getting bigger & better in the Death Metal scene!!! - icetitan@graffiti.net / www.FALLENEMPIRE.tk |
| GENOCRUSH FEROX - THE SEPULCHRE STRANGULATION (9 song CD) ESCOBRUTO RECORDINGS This is a promo CD fro this bands newest disc. This is actually a CD that contains this now defunct bands last two demos, with remastered sound & more. These Death Metal heads hail from Sweden & play early 90's styled Death Metal. There are some Thrash metal elements present as well, especially in the riffing guitar sounds. The vocals are done in a raging Death growl/scream & is in a low end style. These are good demos, which I never got to hear & I'm glad are now out on one disc for all Death metal fans to enjoy!!! |
| HAVOC HATE - CYCLE OF PAIN (11 song CD) INDECENT MEDIA This is the second outing for this Metal act. With a new line up & a new label, these guys have released one hell of an album. The music is a combination of Speed, Thrash, Power & Death metal all combined. There is a ton of great shredding, grooves, hooks & just a strong, full powered sound pouring from this band. They remind me a lot of the bands in the early 90's that took Thrash metal to a heavier level. The vocals are done in a mid ranged Thrash style with some melodic Power Metal ones tossed in. These guys remind me of bands like KREATOR, TESTAMENT, FORBIDDEN & FIGHT, but a lot heavier. This was one of my favorite discs this month!!! - www.HAVOCHATE.com / www.HAVOCHATE.net |
| HUMAN - BLOOD BUCKET (10 song CD) PIKAZ RECORDS & DISTRO HUMAN play a great mixture of Thrash & Death Metal music. There is an old school Thrash Metal sound mixed with a new school Death Metal sound. I really liked the fast paced grooves they had all through out their sound the most. There are some change ups & blasts mixed with in also. The vocals are done in a low end Death growl with some mid to higher ranged Grind/Black Metal type growls. These guys are anothe great band to come out of New Zealnd in a long time!!! - HUMAN_metal@hotmail.com / HUMANmetal@xtra.co.nz / http://HUMANmetal.orcon.net.nz |
| ILLEGAL OPERATION - DIGITAL HERO (14 song CD) MUSICAZ RECORDS This is a promo CD for the bands upcoming release of the same name. These guys hail from Romania & play Industrial Power Metal music. This is a weird combination you don't hear that often, but these guys make it work really well. The music tends to lean a little more towrads the Industrial side though. I liked the crunchy rawness mixed with the clean technical sounds. The vocals blend together mechanical sounding Industrial vocals with clean melodic & powerful Traditional Metal vocals. These guys posses a lot of talent & it shows in their music. Give this one a listen if you get a chance!!! |
| IRON SWORD - RETURN OF THE WARRIOR (13 song CD) THE MISKATONIC FOUNDATION Here we have the second Cd release from Portugal's Sons Of Steel. IRON SWORD play a mix of Thrash, Power, Speed & a bit of Doom Metal music mixed together. These guys have a driving & aggressive force of Metal that they shove right down your throat. There is a strong epic feel to their music too. I really enjoy this style a lot. The vocals are done in a mid a ranged clean vocal along with a higher pitched Power Metal style. If you took IN EXTREMO, HAMMERFALL, MANOWAR & MOTORHEAD & put them all together, you'd get IRON SWORD!!! - P.O. BOX 4 / 2780 - OEIRAS / PORTUGAL / tann@IRONSWORD.net / www.IRONSWORD.net |
| KRYPTOS - SPIRAL ASCENT (10 song CD) CLANDESTINE MUSICK KRYPTOS Hails from India & plays a good mixture of Death & Thrash metal music. The music is definately in the Death Metal range, but is covered with tons of Thrash Metal influences. There is a lot of aggressive & heavy parts as well as a lot of more flowing melodic atmospheric type parts. The vocals are a corssover style of Death & Thrash metal vocals too. There is a strong technical, tight sound in their music. These guys would appeal to fans of both of the above styles of music. Check this band out!!! - KRYPTOS@beer.com / www.KRYPTOS.net (Available through BEOWOLF PRODUCTIONS) |
| LUNACY - N.I.N.E. (9 song CD) SELF RELEASED LUNACY is a five piece & they play a combined style of Death/Thrash/Power Metal music. You don't see this style that often, but these guys do an amazing job at it. The music is quite involved & has a lot of Depth to it. The majority of the music is Thrash & Power Metal with touches of Death Metal here & there. There is a good balance of melodic atmospher as well as intense aggression. The vocals are done in a melodic Power Metal style accompanied by a Thrash/Death crossover style of growls & screams. These guys are quite impressive & will surely syurprise people with their great music!!! - FELSENRAINSTRASSE 12 / CH-8052 ZURICH / LUNACY@LUNACY.ch / desiree@LUNACY.ch / www.LUNACY.ch |
| MEGALITH - SPIRIT SOLDIERS / SOLDATEN DES GEISTES (16 song CD) PIKAZ RECORDS & DISTRO. MEGALITH, I believe come from Germany & play a mixture of a few Metal styles. They combine many elements of Thrash, Death, Doom & Black Metal together to create their sound. The music is very atmospheric, cold & dark feeling most of the way through. Then there are parts with fast paced shredding & heavy beats blasting through. These guys really mix things up & quite well. The vocals are done in a really soar throaty Black Metal type growl that occassionally turns into a scream. Here is yet another great german band that deserves some attention. This is just a promo of their release!!! |
| SAVIOR SECT - THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT (12 song CD) DEAD ARCHIVES PRODUCTIONS Pennsylvania based SAVIOR SECT has released another new CD unto the underground scene. On this disc the band plays some Gothic, Doom dark Metal music. The music has an almost Rock/Metal vibe to it, but is blanketed with Goth elements. There are a lot of dark feels with in their sound as well. The vocals are female & also done in a New Wave/Goth style. They almost remind me of a Metal version of SOUIXE AND THE BANSHEES, THE SMITHS & THE EURYTHMICS all together. There are some bizarre & trippy sounds in the music at times too. This is the bands best release to date!!! - www.SAVIORSECT.com |
| SLITER - THINK OTHER WISE (8 song CD) AKOM PRODUCTIONS / OPTIC RECORDS This is the second release from AKOM PRODUCTIONS & is the debut CD release from this Japanese Metal band. These guys toss a lot of influences into their brand of Metal too. There are elements of Thrash, Progressive, Death Metal, hardcore & even a little Grindcore. They have good grooves & straight out blasts as well. There is a rawness to their music as well as a lot of technical sounds too. The vocals are a blend of harsh Death growls & melodic clean vocals. This is a weird mix, but if you took old METALLICA, GUNS N ROSES, CARCASS, THE SPUDMONSTERS & THE ACCUSED all together you'd get SLITER!!! - mail@SLITER.net / www.SLITER.net |
| SODAMNED - ON THE GALLOWS (4 song CD) SELF RELEASED This is a three piece Metal band that blends many forms together to create their sound. There are elements taken from Black metal, Thrash, Power, Progressive, Doom & Heavy Metall & they are all smashed into a ball of Death metal music. There are all different vibes pouring from this band, because of all the different styles mixed together. The vocals are brutal low end Death growls, with some mid ranged harsh Death growl/screams. These guys poses a lot of talent & should be giving some attention!!! |
| SOLACE OF REQUIEM - SELF TITLED (10 song CD) SELF RELEASED SOLACE OF REQUIEM is a three piece Death metal band from Virginia Beach. Va. These guys are in no way your typical Death metal band either. The music is very diverse & has lots of variety all while sticking to the Death metal vein. The msuic has lots of atmosphere & is still heavy as hell sounding. There is a very full sound for only three guys! The vocals are done in a mid ranged harsh Death growl style. They do a very cool cover of GRAVE's "I Need You". Any Death Metal fan would be happy to have this CD in their collection!!! - info@SOLREQ.com / www/SOLREQ.com |
| STEVE LARET - PASSION (9 song CD) DANGEROUS ENTERTAINMENT GROUP Steve is a Pennsylvanian musician who plays accoustic sounding Pop/Rock music. Most of the music is written by Steve too. He has a solid clean sound that reminds me of a lot of the stuff that is played on Pop/Rock radio today. This isn't really my style of music, but if your into bands like MATCHBOX TWENTY, CREED, MARCY'S PLAYGROUND, GOO GOO DOLLS & stuff in this vein, then you'll want to check out Steve Laret!!! - www.STEVELARET.net |
| THE EVERSCATHED - AGAIN THE CHAINS (2 song CD) SELF RELEASED This is a two song promo CD from this Illinoise Death Metal band. They have a very fast paced aggressive sound to there music. There are lots of old school & new school influences mixed together. They have a decent groove going in the music. I liked the solid heavy drum sound a lot. The vocals are mid ranged hallowed Death growls, that are harsher almost screaming at times. These guys would please old & new school Death fans!!! - 17227 S. 71ST CT. / APT. 9 / TINLET PARK, IL. 60477 / EVERSCATHED@aol.com |
| THINE EYES BLEED - IN THE WAKE OF SEPERATION ( 9 song CD) THE END RECORDS This is the latest offering from Canada's own THINE EYES BLEED. The band features Tom Araya of SLAYER's brother Johnny Araya. The band plays a great mixture of Speed Metal meshed with Death Metal music. The music is hyper intense & very in your face aggressive sounding. The music is also very tight, fast & very well played. The vocals are done in a very harsh & raw throaty Death growl/scream style that is in the same vein as old CARCASS. Fans of such greats as CARCASS, SLAYER, KREATOR, LAMB OF GOD & SHADOWS FALL will love this band!!! - www.THINEEYESBLEED.com |
| THINGS FALL APART - SELF TITLED (7 song CD) CRUSTACEAN RECORDS THINGS FALL APART play some really good Hardcore/Metal music. The music is more in the vein of Metal, but has a really strong Hardcore type vibe to it. These guys are not like any other hardcore type band out there. They have an almost Bay Area Metal sound mixed with a New York Hardcore sound. There are lots of good grooves, breakdowns & hooks all within their songs. The vocals are done in a screaming style that was a blend of old HELMET meets HENRY ROLLINS. I dug this a lot. This is another band that people should keep a eye on!!! - THINGSFALLAPART@earthlink.net / www.THINGSFALLAPART.com |
| UNSOLEMN - THE TURMOIL BEGINS (4 song CD) SELF RELEASED UNSOLEMN plays very extreme & very good Death Metal music. The music has a really brutal, raw, aggressive old school Death Metal style. There are some really cool grooves, blasts & breakdowns in the music too. Some times the guitars have a crunchy Thrash metal feel to them. The vocals are done in a really throaty & harsh Death growl style. All old school Death heads will like these guys a lot!!! - UNSOLEMN@hotmail.com / xtremeh8red@yahoo.com |
| VARATHRON - CROWS REIGN (11 song CD) BLACK LOTUS RECORDS I've been waiting for this disc to come out. This is the new disc from Greece's very own VARATHRON. These guys play insanely sick Black/Death Metal music. This band is very tight, technical & extremely good. They have a good mix of both Death & Black Metal music. There is brutalness, atmospheric, melodic & all out sinister elements all within their sound. I love how they go from an atmospheric slow part into a ball of pure chaotic Death/Black Metal part. The vocals follow along the path of the music. At times they are slow & melodic, while at other times they are aggressive Death/Black growls & screams. One of the best bands to come out of Greece, ever!!! - P.O. BOX 1265 / 45110, IOANNINA / GREECE VARATHRON_stefan@yahoo.com / www.VARATHRON.com |
| WORLD DOWNFALL - LAST STEP BEFORE THE FALL (13 song CD) SELF RELEASED These guys are coming from Germoney with an all out Metal assault. This band plays a combined mixture of Death Metal, Grindcore & Thrash metal music. The music is very fast paced & crunchy Grindcore with heavy & brutal elements of Death Metal inter mixed. There are Thrash metal influences which mostly shine in the guitar sound. The vocals are a mix of Thrash & Death Metal vocals. The vocals are as if you took THE SPUDMONSTERS, AUTOPSY & MORTAL DECAY & blended them all together. This is a great release & I can't wait to hear more from this band!!! |
