| MUSIC REVIEWS (November 2004) |
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| BLASTMAT / SECOND CLASS CITIZEN - SPLIT (15 song CD) DAGGER RECORDS This is my first time checking out both of these bands. The first 8 tracks are from BLASTMAT. These guys have an old school Metal & Punk crossover style that reminded me of D.R.I. a lot. There is a strong Metal vibe with a Punk attitude in their songs like THE SPUDMONSTERS & AGNOSTIC FRONT too. Track 9-15 are by SECOND CLASS CITIZEN. These guys have a very good Metal Hardcore crossover sound like early BIOHAZARD, SICK OF IT ALL & SHEER TERROR. The vocals have a sound like MADBALL. I really liked both of these bands a lot & want to find more stuff by them!!! - www.BLASTMAT.freeservers.com / je138@aol.com |
| BURY YOUR DEAD - COVER YOUR TRACKS (12 song CD) VICTORY RECORDS Damn! I know I usually like the stuff that comes from VICTORY RECORDS, but most of their stuff has been better than ever. BURY YOUR DEAD are an amazing Hardcore / Death Metal crossover band. They are hyper intense, fast paced & full of adrenaline all through out. I loved the stop & start beats in their songs a lot. The vocals are done in a powerful & harsh Hardcore style. These guys are fucking great! Definately one of the best bands on VICTORY right now. If you crossed FEAR FACTORY with ATREYU, you'd get this kick ass great band!!! - www.BURYYOURDEAD.com |
| CHAINSAW DISSECTION - BLOOD, GORE AND GRINDCORE (13 song CD) This is a one man project of some sick ass Grindcore music mixed with some evil sounding Death Metal. The maniac behind this insanity is Bob Macabre, who plays all guitars, bass, growling & drum programming. There is lots of Grindcore carnage all through out the songs. Bob also tosses in lots of blas beats & other madness to create his sound. The vocals are done in low end Death vomit type growls. Bob is yet another talented musician in the underground scene that deserves much attention!!! - www.CHAINSAWDISSECTION.com / CHAINSAWDISSECTION@yahoo.com |
| DRY KILL LOGIC - THE DEAD & DREAMING (11 song CD) REPOSSESSION RECORDS Bursting out of New York comes this very good Metal band. This is DRY KILL LOGIC's second effort & tops the first by a lot. These guys combine Thrash & Death Metal with Punk, Classic Rock & even some Emo. The music is very tight, powerful & very aggressive & at other times it's soothing & melodic. There are some good grooves, breakdowns & change ups all through out the disc. This second disc shows lots of growth, maturity, variety & much improvement on the last disc. If you liked their last disc, you're gonna love this one!!! - www.DRYKILLLOGIC.com |
| MOONLYGHT - PROGRESSIVE DARKNESS (7 song CD) ESCAPI / NEW MEDIA STUDIOS I was expecting these guys to be a straight out Power Metal band. They do have a strong Power Metal style, but they are much more than that. They toss in lots of elements of Black Metal, Power, Progressive, Thrash & Traditional Heavy Metal. There is a balance of atmospheric parts & aggressive brutality. Lots of variety & depth to this band. The vocals crossover from Power & Traditional Metal into Death & Black Metal styles. This is a must for any Metal fan to check out, especially if your into the European Metal scene!!! - join_MOONLYGHT@hotmail.com / www.MOONLYGHT.ca |
| NECRODEMON - ALLEGIANCE TO THE END (11 song CD) REAPER RECORDS These guys play a very intense & very good style of Thrash / Death Metal crossover. The music is mostly Death Metal, but Thrash is very dominate in the guitar sound & some of the beats. There are some good grooves, blasting & crunchy grinds. The vocals are also a Thrash / Death Metal crossover style. The Thrash vocals remind me of NUCLEAR ASSAULT a lot. These guys are very tight, technical & talented. I really dug these guys a lot, I'm gonna pick up their previous releases now!!! Old school Death / Thrash fans are sure to enjoy this band!!! - avernus999@hotmail.com / www.NECRODEMON.com |
| OBSCENE EXTREME 2004 - COMPILATION (34 song CD) OBSCENE PRODUCTIONS I always love these compilation CDs & can't wait for the next one. They put one out every year to coincide with the Obscene Extreme Festivals. (One of these years I'll get to the fest!) The compilation covers all forms of Death Metal, Grindcore, Crust & Goregrind music. The compilation features 31 of the best bands in the scene today with 34 songs total. Some of the bands include: GUTTED, EMETH, FLESHGORE, EXHUMED, ABORTION, FLESHLESS, BIRDFLESH, BLOOD, BRODEQUIN, GRIDE, COMA & 20 others. The compilation comes with all the bands contact information as well & is all professionally done. A Grindcore fans wet dream!!! - P.O. BOX 28 / 53341 LAZNE BOHDANEC / CZECH REPUBLIC / curby@OBSCENE.cz / www.OBSCENE.cz |
| PLUTONIUM - WIND OF CHANGE (4 song CD) This three piece hails from Sweden & play a different style of Black Metal that is known from this area of the world. Their music has a lot of Black Metal in it, but it also split up with equal parts Death Metal & Industrial. There is a really grey coldness in their sound that stays through out the songs. They have an old mechanical Black Metal sound. There are some dark atmospheric parts as well. The vocals are done in a mid ranged throaty Black Metal style. It's nice to hear something different & still as good as most stuff coming out of Sweden!!! - VARMLANDSVAGEN 10C / 691 32 KARLSKOGA / SWEDEN / PLUTONIUM_platoon@hotmail.com |
| SCUM OF THE EARTH - BLAH...BLAH...BLAH, LOVE SONGS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM (11 song CD) ECLIPSE RECORDS This was a highly anticipated release, cause it's the brain child of xRob Zombie guitarist Riggs. The band also features members of POWERMAN 5000 & Rob Zombie's band & WHITE ZOMBIE. The music is some what similar to Rob Zombie's sound, but contains more grittier & stomping beats. The music is a bit heavier as well. I really liked this album a lot & am anxious to see them on tour. These guys are better than Rob Zombie's band & is a blend of both Rob's band & POWERMAN 5000. This disc is great & deserves much attention! The vocals are a mix between Metal, Industrial & almost horror go-go styles!!! - www.SCUMOFTHEEARTH.com |
| STRAYLIGHT RUN - SELF TITLED (11 song CD) VICTORY RECORDS I wasn't sure if I was going to like these guys or not. They play Pop / Alternative Punk Rock music. I'm not a big fan of this style & didn't really get into these guys. The vocals is what did it for me. They are a bit high pitched & whiny Pop / Alternative sounding. The music on the other hand was pretty decent though. It has a really good rocking Punk feel to it & was pretty driving in some areas. There was a lot of ballad like stuff that was in their sound as well. They reminded me of a mellower & more poppy sounding GOOD CHARLOTTE!!! - www.STRAYLIGHTRUN.com |
| SUPPOSITORY / GROT - SPLIT (46 song CD) GRIND ETHIC RECORDS I'm glad to see these guys still going strong. I used to distribute SUPPOSITORY's demos back in the early 90's. These guys are from Holland & have the first 10 songs. They play very grooving, down & dirty Grindcore music. There is complete intensity all through out. The vocals are low end Grindcore with some higher screams tossed in. Tracks 11-46 belong to sickos in GROT. These guys play blasting Grindcore with lots of Noise & Crust tossed in. These guys are very, very heavy & sick as hell. The vocals are real thick throaty growls. This is for all the major Grind/Gore crazies out there!!! - VAN GOYEN STRAAT 83 / 6165 VW GELEEN / HOLLAND / max.duys@planet.nl / borisSUPPOSITORY@hotmail.com / www.SUPPOSITORY.nl |
| UPON SHADOWS - SELF TITLED (14 song CD) UPON SHADOWS comes from Uruguay & plays a very original sounding Metal style. They combine lots of different Metal styles together to create their sound. They are based in the dark Gothic Metal area, but there is some Black Metal, Death Metal, Doom & more present as well. There is a lot of changes in style, from song to song too. The vocals also crossover into low Black Metal, mid ranged Death growls, melodic dark Gothic & some haunting, but enchanting female vocals. This maybe my first band I have heard from Urugauy & these guys are extremely good! I can't wait to hear future stuff from them!!! - HOCQUART 2011 / C.P. 11600 / MONTEVIDEO / URUGUAY / UPONSHADOWS@adinet.com.uy / UPONSHADOWS@yahoo.com.ar / http://UPONSHADOWS.ath.cx |
| VOODOO GLOW SKULLS - ADDICCION, TRADICION, REVOLUCION (14 song CD) VICTORY RECORDS The GLOW SKULLS are a band I've liked for some time now & I'm glad to see they are still going strong. This is their seventh album in their 16 years of music. The GLOW SKULLS are a very varied & talented band playing a very different style of Ska-core. They toss in some Hardcore, Ska, Punk, Metal & Mexican music flavor to come up with one hell of a good sound. The guys have gotten a bit faster & more aggressive on this release. The vocals are done in a mid ranged Hardcore/Punk style & they sing in both Spanish & English. I loved the thick bass sound in their songs a lot. They reminded me of MINOR THREAT, CIRCLE JERKS, MUPRHY'S LAW, BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY & a little bit of BRUJERIA tossed in all together. This is a great combination in my mind & another reason I've always liked these guys!!! - www.VOODOOGLOWSKULLS.com |
| W.A.S.P. - THE NEON GOD (PART2-THE DEMISE) (9 song CD) SANCTUARY RECORDS GROUP This is the second part of the conceptual album from these legends of Metal. Blackie Lawless & the boys sound just as good now as they did in the early days. They sound a lot more mature & more experienced now, but they still posses that same energy they had then. Everyone should know who these great Heavy Metal gods areby now. W.A.S.P. is one of the reasons I really got into Metal. They combine the best parts of Power, Traditional, Heavy Metal & Hard Rock to create their style & sound. The vocals are still powerful & melodic as always. This is one band that always delivers with each new release!!! - www.WASPnation.com |