| MUSIC REVIEWS (May 2003) |
| ABRASIVE - DESIRE (7 song CD) SEMEN DEMON PRODUCTION Just looking at this bands album cover I knew this was going to be some really sick shit. These guys play a very good mixture of Death Metal & Grindcore with a very technical sound. This is the bands second mini CD & contains 3 new songs & four that were recorded for a promo CD in 2001. These guys have a very deep Death Metal sound with lots of aggression. They toss in lots of raw Grindcore assaults along with some very Technical Thrash Metal sounds here & there. There are two vocal styles used. One is a higher pitched scream & the other being a low Death growl. This is a very good Death Grind band out of Germany!!! - CHARLOTTENSTRASSE 8/288 / 72070 TUBINGEN / GERMANY / alex@semendemon.de AION - SYMBOL (9 song CD) METAL MIND RECORDS I was a little surprised by this bands sound when I popped this disc in. I was expecting them to be a Death Metal band for some reason. These guys play some very well structured Metal that pulls elements from Traditional Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal & pure Heavy Metal music. They have a lot of atmospheric depth in their sound that has a strong Epic Metal feel to it. The vocals are done in a traditional Metal clean style that has a very story telling vibe to it. I really liked this a lot, cause it really pulls the listener into the bands sound & music. This is one for all fans of great Metal music!!! - P.O. BOX 118 / 05-600 GROJEC / POLAND / AION@caladan.art.pl / www.AION.page.prv.pl ANTHENORA - THE GENERAL'S AWAKENING (4 song CD) These guys hail from Italy & play a very good powerful style of Traditional Metal music. They have a strong sound of a lot of the bands [playing this style in the 80's. I actually liked the dominating guitar sound this band has the most. It takes on a few different sounds, like classic guitar shredding solos, chugging along grooving & an all out grinding assaults. The drums & bass have a good groove as well that helps support this bands great sound. The vocalist reminds me of a mix between W.A.S.P., DIO & ALICE COOPER all mixed together! Fans of DIO, IRON MAIDEN, W.A.S.P., JUDAS PRIEST & BLACK SABBATH will love these guys!!! - ANTHENORA@yahoo.com / www.ANTHENORA.com APOSTASIA - MARTYRS OF GOD (8 song CD) ADIPOCERE RECORDS Wow! These guys are amazing! This French band plays a very good & aggressive style of Black Metal music. Their sound blends great beauty with horrific evilness. The music is very raw fast paced Black Metal mixed with orchestrated & atmospheric Black Metal music. This is the bands debut album & is the first in many concept albums. The album is based on the story of life & death of Anthea during the 13th Century at the time of the Enquiry! They achieve this goal in the eight tracks featured in this disc. These guys are incredible & probably the best band to come out of France in a long time!!! - APOSTASIA@online.fr ART OF DARKNESS - MIND SUICIDE (5 song CD) ART OF DARKNESS out of Italy play a wide ranged style of Death Metal music. they focus the bands main foundation on Death Metal music, but then build off of that. They add in some touches of Power Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal & sometimes Grindcore music. There are some really good grooves, grinds, breakdowns & all out shredding as well. I really enjoyed this bands original take on Death Metal music. They have a few vocal styles as well. They blend together raw Death growls, deep Death growls & even some Thrash metal styled vocals. These guys are another great Metal band to emerge from Italy!!! - VIA PUCCINI, 33 / 10024 MONCALIERI (TO) / ITALY / ART_OF_DARKNESS@hotmail.com / www.ARTOFDARKNESS.too.it ATREYU - SUICIDE NOTES AND BUTTERFLY KISSES (10 song CD) VICTROY RECORDS This is a band I've heard a lot about & already knew I was going to like them. This is the bands debut release & a very impressive one at that. This Southern, California band play a very different & unique style of Hardcore music. They toss in some elements of everything from Power Metal, Thrash Metal, Emo to Death Metal, Punk Rock & heavy Metal all built on a foundation of Hardcore music. Their music is very melodic, haunting & emotional as much as it is aggressive, powerful & extremely energetic! These guys fit in very well with the VICTORY roster of bands, but are most likely the labels most original act, which will set them a part from the rest! This is a band for any fan of great original sounding Hardcore! - blackensoul@hotmail.com / www.ATREYUrock.com AXAMENTA - CODEX BARATHRI (9 song CD) THE LSP COMPANY Damn! I'm barely started on this months CD reviews & everything has been amazing already. AXAMENTA is no exception! These guys are an amazing Black/Death Metal band with lots of depth & variety. They have a very technical sound in their music that takes elements from Black Metal, Death Metal, Power, Classical, Goth & Thrash Metal & brings them all together. This album is truley some of the best Black Metal I've heard in a long time with a majestic, atmospheric & fantasy style. Any fan of Black Metal must have this disc in their collection!!! - KATTENSTRAAT 39 / 2000 ANTWERPEN / BELGIUM / mordheim@pandora.be / http://users.pandora.be/AXAMENTA BENIGHTED - PSYCHOSE (13 song CD) ADIPOCERE RECORDS Here is yet another great band out of France playing some very brutal Black/Death Metal music. This band was formed back in 1998 & features members of the bands DARKNESS FIRE, OSGILIATH & DISHUMANIZED! They are very intense & play some really fast paced Death Metal. They have a very mid 90's Death Metal feel to their sound, but a little bit more technical. They reminded me a lot of the great bands DEICIDE, SUFFOCATION, DISINCARNATE & IMMOLATION. The Black Metal mostly comes in in the vocals. there are some higher pitched Black Metal growls mixed with some lower Death Metal growls. This disc is worth picking up especially for fans of any of the above mentioned bands!!! - TRUCHAN JULIEN / MARIGNY / 42510 BALBIGNY / FRANCE BIRDFLESH - NIGHT OF THE ULTIMATE MOSH (22 song CD) RAZORBACK RECORDS Here's a surprise! RAZORBACK RECORDS has released yet another great Grindcore CD. These guys play some ultra sick Grindcore that just knocks the shit out of you repeatedly. there are lots of guitar shredding, blast beats, raw aggression & gore soaked madness. These guys are great! They toss in some good grooves & breakdowns as well to round off their sickness! These guys fit in perfectly with every other release that RAZORBACK has ever put out!!! - www.BIRDFLESH.com / BIRDFLESH@hotmail.com / BIRDFLESHadde@hotmail.com BLOODLET - THREE HUMID NIGHTS IN THE CYPRESS TREES (12 song CD) VICTORY RECORDS I thought BLOODLET being on VICTORY was kind of weird. These guys just didn't seem to fit with the rest of their bands. these guys sound like a mixture of Death Metal mixed with Emo music. Their music is very low end music then tends to lean towards Death Metal with touches of Doom Metal tossed in the mix. they have a low end chugging that is mostly type rhythms that is dominately found in Emo styled music. At times you can hear some beats that are clearly Hardcore, but not too often. The vocals blend together Emo & Death Metal styles as well. I can see lots of people getting into these guys, but fans of strickly Emo, Death Metal or just Hardcore will be few!!! COHERENT LIQUID FORM - NEW EXISTENCE (11 song CD) ARCHIVES MUSIC (Available through BEOWOLF PRODUCTIONS) These guys play some very well structured & aggressive Death Metal music. The music does take elements from Black Metal, Doom & Gothic Metal as well. There is a strong dark Doom/Black Metal atmosphere to their sound. The vocals are done in a Black Metal & Death Metal mid to higher ranged growl. This is some very dark & errie Death Metal music!!! - P.O. BOX 9915 / MAPLEWOOD, MN. 55019 / CLF@imperialarchives.com |