| MUSIC REVIEWS (October 2003) |
| ALKONOST - SELF TITLED (9 song CD) BEVERINA AND KETZER PRODUCTIONS ALKONOST play some very dark raw Slavonic Pagan Metal music. The music has some really dark overtones to them & has a strong cold feeling through out the whole disc. There is some really raw Black Metal imminating in & out of the music as well. They toss in some cold majestic & atmospheric parts too. The guitars have a slight Thrash Metal vibe to them also. The vocals are done in low harsh Black Metal growls that have a slight echo effect on them! Fans of Pagan Metal will want to snag this disc for their collection! - ALKONOST_dp@mail.ru / http://ALKONOST.narod.ru ANI DIFRANCO - EVOLVE (12 song CD) RIGHTEOUS BABE RECORDS How could I describe ANI DIFRANCO differently then I have in the past? I don't think I can! This is the newest in many of ANI's releases I've gotten for review. I have been highly impressed with each new release she puts out. She is one amazingly talented women. She fuses togethere elements of Classical, Jazz, Alternative, Punk, Rock, Metal, Pop & more together to create her sound that can only be described as being ANI! She has stretched her musical boundaries once again on this new release. I think ANI is one artist who is majorly underated & deserves much more attention than she gets! ANI is the female version of PETE ZORN!!! - P.O. BOX 95 / ELLICOTT STATION / BUFFALO, NY. 14205 / www.righteousbabe.com ANIMA DAMNATA / THRONEUM - SPLIT (18 song CD) PAGAN RECORDS This is a split CD release called "GODS OF ABHORRENCE" by ANIMA DAMNATA & THRONEUM. The first group of songs comes from the band ANIMA DAMNATA. These guys plays some very fast & heavy Death Metal music. They have a strong Thrash Metal guitars sound! The vocals are done in a mid ranged Death growl with some higher Black Metal type screams tossed in. The last half of this disc is done by the band THRONEUM. These guys also play a mixture of Death Metal & Black Metal together. These guys lean more towards heavy Death Metal, but the Black Metal influences are very strong through out! They have some slight atmospheric parts as well. The vocals are done in a harsh mid ranged Death growl style. This is a release for fans of older VENOM, BEHERIT & DEICIDE material! - www.ANIMADAMNATA.com / www.geocities.com/THRONEUM BRODEQUIN - INSTRUMENTS OF TORTURE (12 song CD) UNMATCHED BRUTALITY BRODEQUIN has been in the underground scene for awhile now & have really made a name for themselves! This disc proves it! This is a re-issue of this self release from 2000 which sold over 10,000 copies. With such high demands for this release UNMATCHED BRUTALITY has rereleased it. These guys play some insanely heavy Death Metal music. They have a strong old school style of Death Metal. There are tons of grinds, blasts, breakdowns, tempo changes & lots more. The vocals are done in a very, very low Death gurggle of a growl. This is a must for all fans of old material from INTERNAL BLEEDING, MORTAL DECAY & INSATANITY!!! - www.BRODEQUIN.com / tombsofaku@aol.com CATACOMBS - SELF TITLED (2 song CD) CTHULHU PRODUCTIONS This is a two song promo CD for the bands self titled CD release out on CTHULHU PRODUCTIONS. These guys play some very dark Black/Death Metal music. There is a really long dragging type slow Black Metal vibe to their music. The feel is very dark cold almost like a lost wondering feel in the sound. There is lots of atmospheric parts as well! The vocals are done in a very low low Death/Black Metal type growls. This is not your typical Black or Death Metal band!!! CATASEXUAL URGE MOTIVATION - NEKRONICLE (27 song CD) RAZOR BACK RECORDS I've heard past releases from this band & I still can't believe this band! They have one of the strangest sounds I've ever heard. They play serial killer type Noise/Grindcore. The majority of the music is in the Grindcore vein, but there's lots of Noise distortion going on as well. The vocals sound like low Grindcore gurggles as if the guy was actually gurggling on some blood. They also toss in some higher from various compilations they have appeared on along with some previous unreleased & remasters! This is for all sickos!!! CEA SERIN - THE SURFACE OF ALL THINGS (4 song CD) CEA SERIN is one truley amazing band! I wasn't sure what I was going to get & if I would like it. Well, I got some very powerful & well written Progressive Metal & I loved it. These guys are very, very talented. This is really different than most bands of this style. There is lots of depth, fantasy & atmosphere on this disc. They also add in some fast, aggressive & heavy shredding parts. The vocals are done in some throaty almost Thrash Metal vocals, melodic clean Metal vocals & higher pitched Power Metal vocals. If you'd take RUSH, DREAM THEATER, BLIND GAURDIAN, STRATAVARIOUS & DIO & rolled them into one, you'd got these guys!!! - CEASERIN@aol.com / www.mp3.com/CEASERIN CUM CHRIST - CUMPLETE (18 song CD) UNMATCHED BRUTALITY Well, what would you expect from a band named CUM CHRIST? Yep, these guys play some very intense & blasphemous Death/Grind music. Their music is extremely aggressive & heavy as hell! They toss in lots of Grindcore to bring out this intensity. I love the crunchy, heavy & chunkiness they have in their soun. The vocals are done by mixing together low Death growls & higher screaming Grindcore growls & screams. How could you not expect a great Death Metal release from a band that features members of the bands GOREGASM, CINERARY, INCESTUOS, EVIL INCARNATE & CIANIDE!!! - wrench@CUMCHRIST.com / scrote@CUMCHRIST.com / www.CUMCHRIST.com DIVINE RAPTURE - THE BURNING PASSION (11 song CD) This is a CD-R promo copy of DIVINE RAPTURE's new release. These guys hail from my home state of Pennsylvania & play some very good Death Metal music. These guys have improved a lot since their last release! They have also tossed in some Black Metal elements to their Death Metal sound too. These guys almost sound like a completely different band. There are low to mid ranged Death growls mixed with harsh hallowed Black Metal screams & growls. This is one for all fans of the heavier European Black & Death Metal scene!!! DOGFACE - SELF TITLED (3 song CD) MAMAS BOY RECORDS (Available through BEOWOLF PRODUCTIONS) DOGFACE play a very raw style of Punk/Hardcore music mixed together. There are some slight Metal influences coming out in the guitars though. The music has a very old school feel to it where the music is kind of chaotic sounding at times. The vocals are done in a raw Punk style mixed with some Emo sounding music as well! This is one for fans of Hard Rock, Punk & Alternative fans! This band features ex-members of ONE LAST SIN & WITHOUT REASON!!! - 37 WESTON AVE / FISHKILL, NY. 12524 / joel@DOGFACE.net / www.DOGFACE.net DOGWOOD - SEISMIC (12 song CD) TOOTH & NAIL RECORDS DOGWOOD play some heart wrenching, bare knuckled Punk Rock music. These guys are very good & have a different sound than most of the Punk Rock you hear & see today! They have a strong California Punk style, but also add in lots of New York styled Punk as well. I think the heavy crunchy guitars & music is more New York Punk oriented, while the vocals are done in a more California Punk style. They have lots of good grooves & breakdowns. I could see these guys fitting in good with all the bands on the Vans Warped Tour, but they would deffinately stand out on their own!!! - www.DOGWOOD.ws ELLIPSIS - COMASTORY (13 song CD) ADIPOCERE RECORDS This band hails from France & play some very involved Progressive Metal music. They add lots of elements of Power Metal & Doom Metal into their sound as well. There is a strong epic & fantasy type vibe eminating from their sound through out the disc. The Progressive Metal sounds are the most dominant of the three styles used. The vocals are done in a clean male Metal style that goes from high pitched Power Metal to melodic Power Metal styles. If your into Psycho-Prog-Doom Metal then this disc is a must for you!!! - axisthema@wanadoo.fr / www.ELLIPSIS-music.com |