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| MUSIC REVIEWS (October 2009) |
| (6 track CD) Self Released This is the debut CD release from this young Italian Death Metal band. These guys fuse together many elements of Death Metal to create their sound. The foundation for the band is based in old school Death Metal, but they do add in some more grooved out & melodic Death Metal parts. They also include some Progressive Death Metal as well as all out shredding Thrash Metal elements. The vocals are done in a cross over style of Death & Thrash, but have a tendency to lean more towards the Death Metal side. This is a great start for this Italian Death Metal band. Hopefully we will see many more releases from these guys in the future. Well worth checking out! www.myspace.com/AMORPHEAD |
| BURIAL RITUAL - TOWER OF SILENCE (PROMO) (8 track CD) Self Released BURIAL RITUAL has been kicking around the underground & building a name for themselves since 2005. This is the bands second release to date. This album sees the band changing their sound slightly. They have gone from a Death & Roll style to a more classic old school Death Metal style with elements of Black Metal & Thrash Metal present all through out. The cold dark gritty elements come from their Black Metal influences while the crunchy shredding guitars is where the Thrash elements are present. This is all coated with a thick blanket of Death Metal. At times you can hear touches of Grindcore shinning through as well. The vocals are mostly done in a mid ranged Death growl style, but they do mix in some Black & Thrash ones. Another great Death Metal band to add to your collection. www.myspace.com/BURIALRITUALband |
| CENTRICA - SELF TITLED (7 track CD) MUSEA PARALLELE RECORDS CENTRICA is a new Italian band playing Progressive Instrumental Metal music. The music has a real strong atmospheric & intricate sound to it. It is almost like they take you on a mystical journey with their music. The music has a lot of Depth & range to it as well. There are lots of unique & experimental song structures that flow together smoothly with each change. The guitar work is very powerful & dynamic which brings to mind the great Steve Vai. They mix in lots of melody, rhythm & even some peaceful acoustic parts to create some of the variety in their music. This would be a must for fans of DREAM THEATER, PORCUPINE TREE & even RUSH! www.CENTRICAband.com |
| ENEMY REIGN - MEANS TO A DEAD END (5 track CD) Self Released underground scene. The band features former members of SKINLESS, DEADSPEAK, BECOMING THE ENEMY MASAKADO & THROAT CULTURE. These guys take everything that is great about extreme heavy music & ball it up into one amazing sound. They take influences from early 90's Death Metal, late 80's Grindcore, East Coast Hardcore & Bay Area Thrash. The music has so much energy & aggression all through out. I love the fast paced blasts that switch into a slower chugging Death groove & then an all out shredding Thrash riff. The music is topped off with thick harsh Death growls. This is one band that will surely dominate the Death Metal scene if they keep putting out top notch, extremely well written music like this. Highly recommended! Don't pass this one up! www.ENEMYREIGN.com |
| (9 track CD) PARAGON RECORDS FAUST was born back in 1992 by brainchild singer & guitarist Aliester. This band features some musicians who have played with DORO, BLAZE, CLAIRVOYANTS, PROFANATUM, SADUS, DEATH, ICED EARTH, TESTAMENT, DIMMU BORGIR, VESANIA & NEOLITHIC. The band plays in the original tradition of classic Death Metal. The music definitely has an old school vibe to it, that blends in some Thrash Metal elements. Their sound is from the birth days of Death Metal. There are some more atmospheric & dark parts that have some Black Metal elements as well. The vocals are a mid ranged Death growl style that has a thick sluggish sound. These guys have let all their talents shine in the crafting of this great release. This is a definite must for all fans of the early 90's Death Metal scene! Horns raised high to this killer album! www.deathmetal.it |
| IRON DRAGON - OPEN THE GATES (11 track CD) Self Released IRON DRAGON is a two man project that consists Ryan Crouse doing guitars, drums, synths, Progressive Metal style. The guitars dominate most of the music through out the songs. They do add in some flavoring of Thrash & Power Metal as well. The songs are very involved, intricate & well structured. There is a lot of changed ups & all out shredding in the songs too. This is another band that the guitarist reminds me of Steve Vai, but this time only if he was playing in a Thrash Metal band. If there were vocals added to the music then these guys would have fit in perfectly with a lot of the bands from the late 80's & early 90's playing the same style. All guitar dominated music lovers should give this a listen! www.starverse.ca/IRONDRAGON |
| (4 track CD) Self Released This is a four song demo limited to only 100 copies that are numbered & handmade with sealed wax. The band has gone back to their ancestors & created all their songs with the lyrics being done in Bergamasco dialect to honor their grandparents language & history. The music is done in an old world dark Black Metal style. The music is dark & gritty all through out with some really fast paced spastic parts mixed in. They have a lot of coldness that blankets their sound. The vocals are a harsh scratchy throaty Black metal screaming style. It reminds me of a lot of the Black Metal bands from the late 80's & early 90's era. If your an old school Black Metal fiend then this is for you! www.FOSCH.bg |
| SECRETS OF THE MOON - PRIVILEGIVM (9 track CD) KNIFE FIGHT MEDIA After three years & some line up changes SECRETS OF THE MOON are back with their best album to date. This time around the band has reinvented itself & their sound. They have adding a darker more Death Rock vibe into their Death Metal sound. The music is very dark & dreary sounding through out most of the album. They do take elements of Thrash Metal & Black Metal & mix it in with all the Death. There are more grooves injected into their sound as well. The vocals are mid ranged Death growls with vocals that you can understand. These guys & now girl have really improved immensely in their music in all aspects. This album needs to be heard by every Metal fan out there. If you weren't a fan of this band in the past you will be after one listen to this masterpiece! www.SECRETSOFTHEMOON.org |
| SMILE EMPTY SOUL - CONSCIOUSNESS (13 track CD) FOF ENTERTAINMENT SMILE EMPTY SOUL play a very popular style of Modern Metal music that was really big in the early 2000's. These guys have a Hard Rock / Metal edge that is very radio friendly, but heavy enough to get Metal heads into it. The music has decent riffs & grooves to it with influences from Modern Metal & Modern Rock mixed together with some Alternative & Grunge tossed in too. The vocals are done in a mid ranged melodic clean style with a blend of screaming vocals. If you combined parts of www.SMILEEMPTYSOUL.com |
| STAREBLIND - SOMETHING LEFT UNEXPLAINED (11 track CD) Self Released Canada's STAREBLIND come full force with their debut release "SOMETHING LEFT UNEXPLAINED". These guys melt together many different styles of Modern Metal music to create their style & sound. There are a lot of aggressive, yet melodic parts mixed together with some straight forward grooved out Metal parts. They even mix in some Nu-Metal, Screamo & Thrash Metal elements to build on their sound. The vocals cross over a lot of these styles as well. There are harsh scratchy screaming vocals, some slower more melodic ones as well as some mid ranged angry vocals. This band is a definite must for any fan of Modern Metal acts like KORN, DISTURBED, www.STAREBLIND.net |
| (10 track CD) PULVERISED RECORDS WHIPLASH are back with their most diverse & best album so far. These legends of the Thrash Metal scene are back & doing what they do best. They have created a classic Thrash album in the making. There is a ton of Thrash riffage all through out, plus tons of shredding too. There is a killer groove in most of their songs as well that makes you just want to get up & start moshing in the pit. The vocals are mid ranged harsh Thrash vocals. If you don't know these legendary Thrashers then you should pick this album up & work your way back through their history! Thrash on! www.myspace.com/WHIPLASHusa |