| MUSIC REVIEWS (September 2007) |




















| ART 238 - EMPIRE OF THE ATOM (10 track CD) OPEN GRAVE RECORDS Wow! These guys are amazing, from start to finish! Hailing from France comes this two piece & out. There are some fierce attacks of aggression within their sound. I like how they placed samples mixed in their songs a lot. It breaks up the music & keeps them sounding fresh! The vocals are done in a harsh mid ranged Death/Grindcore style with some occasional mid ranged Industrial vocals. This is a definite must for any Metal fan that likes a little Industrial tossed in! |
| ECHOSILENCE - DISTORTED HORIZON (4 track CD) NAILBOARD RECORDS I don't know much about this band at all. This is my first experience hearing them, but I liked what I heard. They play a melodic & atmospheric style of Power Metal with some touches of Prog Rock & Traditional Heavy Metal. The songs take you on a magical journey with lots of Epic sounding parts. The music also has a some what fantasy vibe to it too. These songs are well structure & have voyage, then buy this album! You will enjoy it!!! |
| EZURATE - INFERNAL DOMINATIO (7 track CD) FOREVER UNDERGROUND RECORDS Most of you Black Metal fans out there should have heard of these guys by now. They have been destroying the underground scene with their blasphemous sounds for over 10 years now. These that embraces all darkness & spits it right back out in the form of their music. These guys have in a mid ranged harsh throaty Black Metal growl style that rips through you! This is a must! www.myspace.com/EZURATE |
| GORESOERD - GOREMARKET MID PRICES (17 track CD) NAILBOARD RECORDS Hailing from Estonia comes this great group filled with many experienced local musicians. This is hard hitting Grindcore, but adds in some touches of Crust & Hardcore along the way. They also done in amid ranged almost Death Metal growl style with some higher pitched Grindcore growls & screams. I don't know many bands from Estonia, but if this is what they have to offer I am hooked & looking forward to hearing more from bands in this area!!! www.GORESOERD.net |
| IMMORTAL SOULS - WINTERREICH (11 track CD) DARK BALANCE This band from Finland is back with their 3rd full length CD release. These four guys play some very well structured Gothenburg Metal music. They have a very cool classic Thrash sound with lots of Modern day Metal music mixed within. The music is very fast paced & hyper sound, but a controlled chaos style. The guitar work is amazing & blew me away, along with the grooving & shredding. The vocals are done in a harsh mid ranged Metal style. If you were to take DARK TRANQUILITY, CHILDREN OF BODOM, ARCH ENEMY & KREATOR & rolled them all into one mega Metal band you'd get IMMORTAL SOULS! www.IMMORTALSOULS.com |
| INSOMNIA CD - ISSUE 5 (15 track CD) INSOMNIA MEDIA This CD comes from INSOMNIA magazine & the CD covers all forms of Metal music. There are bands playing Traditional, Melodic, Doom, Power, Thrash, Death, Goth, Black & even a bit of Hardcore styles. The bands featured hear include: FLESH EATING FOUNDATION, INVEY, VOLKMAR, THE PUSSYBATS, MISHERE, SEDUCED BY SUICIDE & 9 other bands as well. This is a very cool magazine with a very cool free CD. Check it out & get yours today!!! www.INSOMNIA-MEDIA.com |
| LOITS - MUST ALBUM (9 track CD) NAILBOARD RECORDS Here we have the newest release from this very good & well established Pagan Black Metal band. These guys have carved a name for themselves & are doing so again. This time the band goes down a little different path. They still have their traditional Pagan Black Metal elements, but have expanded a little this time around. They have added in some more atmospheric & majestic Black Metal Black metal style with some harsh, dark growls, mid ranged growls, clean Black Metal vocals & some melodic almost spoken word type growls too. These guys are very tight & talented! www.LOITS.org |
| MUST MISSA - MARTYR OF WRATH (8 track CD) NAILBOARD RECORDS This is the newest release from the band MUST MISSA. These guys continue with what they had on the last album, but take it to the next level. They still have that classic Thrash Metal style, but are done in a mid ranged Thrash Metal style. This album sounds more like VENOM, SODOM, TESTAMENT & CARCASS mixed all together!!! www.MUSTMISSA.com |
| ONE STEP BEYOND - BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL (15 track CD) Self Released Wow! This was quite a big surprise from this band. The bands first CD "LIFE IMITATES ART" & plays some very cool, hyper fast Death Metal music, but add in lots of flares of other styles. There are some elements of Rock, Funk & Dub all present in their sound too. I really dig this a lot, Death growl style with some higher screaming Grindcore type vocals. This band must be heard by every fan of Metal music!!! www.myspace.com/ONESTEProckstar |
| OVERLOADED - REGENERATION (9 track CD) Self Released Here we have a Hard Rock band based out of Detroit, Michigan. These guys have been kicking out elements of Southern Rock, Traditional Metal & Heavy Metal elements to blend together with their Rock style. They have a very cool 80's styled sound as well. I dig the Hard Rocking grooves & sing along choruses. The vocals are done in a mid to high ranged clean Metal style. This is a must for fans of JACKYL, DANGEROUS TOYS, MOTLEY CRUE & FASTER PUSSYCAT! www.OVERLOADEDmusic.com |
| RINGWORM - THE VENOMOUS GRAND DESIGN (13 track CD) VICTORY RECORDS These guys should never need an introduction to the world of Metal & Hardcore. These guys have unleashed yet another extremely good crossover album that will become a classic in this field just like their last releases. These guys pull from both worlds of Metal & Hardcore to draw forth a very mayhem. I loved every minute of it. The vocals also following in the same vein as the music with not checked these guys out yet, you must do so & start with this album. It will blow you away!!! www.RINGWORM13.com |
| STALWART - ABYSS AHEAD Damn! I was blown away by these guys. They play a very cool mixture of a few different Metal styles. They take many elements from Thrash, Power, Death & progressive Metal & combine them together to create & very beautiful & controlled chaotic sound. I liked the fact that each style is in Power & lower end Death growls all together. This band is a perfect blend of old school Metal & new school Metal. A must for any Metal fan & would fit perfectly in their collection! www.STALWART.ru |
| TAAK - KOERAPOORIOO (11 track CD) NAILBOARD RECORDS Here is another band from Estonia & NAILBOARD RECORDS I am hearing for the first time. snag some elements of Thrash & Traditional Metal along the way too. There is a very good groove to their sound that makes you want to stick around for the ride. The vocals are done in another language & sung in a melodic Traditional & Power Metal style. They reminded me of bands like QUEENSRYCHE, JUDAS PRIEST & IRON MAIDEN a lot with more Prog Metal tossed in! |
| TANGORODRIM - JUSTUS EX FIDE VIVIT (6 track CD) SOUTHERN LORD RECORDS vicious & hate filled sounds. There are some very dark, dirty & raw vibes that blanket their sound all through out. They do toss in some almost dirty old school Punk Rock sounds at times too. The Israel & play just that. The music has a very dingy old school Black Metal sound with lots of vocals are done in a mid to low ranged Black Metal growl style with some occasional screams mixed in. This may not be for every Black Metal fan, but most old school die hard Black Metal hordes would want to get their gritty little hands on this release!!! |
| THARAPHITA - PRIMEVAL FORCE (8 track CD) NAILBOARD RECORDS Behold another great band to emerge from Estonia & NAILBOARD RECORDS. These guys play lots of atmospheric & majestic new school Black Metal sounds as well. The music has a lot of Behold another great band to emerge from Estonia & the heavy brutal fast stuff & the slower more NAILBOARD style with some melodic Black Metal clean vocals. This band should get a lot of style with some melodic Black Metal clean vocals. This band should get a lot of attention, because they are extremely deserving of it!They are extremely deserving of it! |
| THE ART OF ALL - MORGAN (8 track CD) Self Released These guys play different sounding style of Grunge music. This is in no way like any Grunge music you've heard before. They add in elements of Progressive, Trance, Metal & Post Punks sounds as well. Sometimes one style is done in a very melodic clean trance like style that makes you feel almost trippy like while listening. These guys definitely have an original sound which will surely help keep them in the publics eye, that & the fact that they are really good musicians! www.THEARTOFALL.com |
| THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD - MALICE (11 track CD) PROSTHETIC RECORDS These South Carolina maniacs are back with their 4th & newest release to date. This time around the guys have gotten more aggressive, brutal & violent sounding. These maybe because they recruited new front man Nate Johnson (ex- PREMONITIONS OF WAR). These guys have taken everything they have done in the past & stepped it up a few more notches. The music is extremely fast with lots of grooves, breakdowns, change ups & stop & start parts. They have really improved a lot since the last album, which was already top notch! The vocals are done in a mid ranged highly forceful & harsh Death Metal growl style!Another disc that should be in every Metal fans music collection!!! Add it now!!! www.THROUGHTHEEYESOFTHEDEAD.net |
| WATCH ME BURN - AT THE STAKE (15 track CD) SILVERTOOTH RECORDS WATCH ME BURN have spawn forth another intense & insane release. They have stuck with their spastic Grindcore/Crust style of music on this release. The music is mostly very fast paced, raw aggressive & chaotic, just how they want it to be. There are a few slower more sludgy or Doom like parts at times, but they are few & far between. The vocals are done by female vocalist Sawa, but they are anything female like. They are very harsh, demonic & a bit scary at times. This is one band that will beat the shit out of you with each new listen, but you will truly appreciate this beaten & keep coming back for more!!! Get the bandages ready, cause this is going to be violent! www.WATCHMEBURN.com |
| WOLVES IN THE THROWN ROOM - TWO HUNTERS (5 track CD) SOUTHERN LORD RECORDS Here we have the newest release from this very traditional, but untraditional Black Metal band. Untraditional lyrics & beliefs found in the Black metal genre. These guys write about wild forests, unfitted rivers & furious & vengeful nature. The music is very dark low end a dingy sounding, but Metal style that is some what haunting & chilling. These guys run in a whole different field when it comes to Black Metal. If your up for the challenge then give these guys a listen! |
| WITCHES IN BIKINIS - LIVE DVD (DVD) Self Released I got this DVD from Paul Autry of SPOTLIGHT ZINE, who turned me onto this band. This band 60's styled Rock band with lots of Theatrical aspects too. There is a 4 man band, but 6 beautiful "WITCHES IN BIKINIS" that sing the songs & perform the live stage stuff. The music has the sound of 60's surf & musical type music. If you were to mix together girl group, beach parties, low budget 60's horror flicks & Russ Meyer's films together, you'd get this very different & very cool band! Even if your not into this style of music it's still worth it to check this band out! www.WITCHESINBIKINIS.com |

