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CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, July 3, 2002, Issue #58
http://www.ChroniclesOfChaos.com
Editor-in-Chief: Gino Filicetti
Coordinator: Adrian Bromley
Copy Editor / Contributor: Pedro Azevedo
Assistant Copy Editor / Contributor: Brian Meloon
Contributor: Adam Wasylyk
Contributor: Paul Schwarz
Contributor: Aaron McKay
Contributor: David Rocher
Contributor: Matthias Noll
Contributor: Alvin Wee
Contributor: Gabriel Sanchez
Contributor: Chris Flaaten
Contributor: Quentin Kalis
Contributor: Vincent Eldefors
Neophyte: Kirsty Buchanan
Spiritual Guidance: Alain M. Gaudrault
The individual writers can be reached by e-mail at
firstname@ChroniclesOfChaos.com ("firstname" must be replaced by the
respective writer's first name, e.g. Gino@ChroniclesOfChaos.com).
NOTE: You may unsubscribe from Chronicles of Chaos at any time by
sending a blank e-mail to <Unsubscribe@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>.
For more Chronicles of Chaos information, check out the
Details section at the end of this issue.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Issue #58 Contents, 7/3/02
--------------------------
- Loud Letters
- Deadly Dialogues
-- My Dying Bride: Thus Spake the Wretched
-- Cannibal Corpse: Obsessed With Their Music
-- Pro-Pain: The Shocking Shreds of Dignity
-- Ephel Duath: The Path of Self-Rephormulation
-- Kalmah: They're Back
-- Tapping the Vein: A Real High
-- Kaamos: Blinding Intensity
-- Abigail - _Welcome All Hell Fuckers_
-- Abominator - _Subversives for Lucifer_
-- Aeternus - _Ascension of Terror_
-- Aliengates - _Dark Days Quantum_
-- Axamenta - _Codex Barathri_
-- Belinus - _Battlechants_
-- Belphegor - _Necrodaemon Terrorsathan_
-- Berserk - _From the Celtiberian Woods_
-- Beseech - _Souls Highway_
-- Beto Vazquez Infinity - _Beto Vazquez Infinity_
-- Bewitched - _Rise of the Antichrist_
-- Black Mass - _To Fly With Demons_
-- Blood Duster - _Cunt_
-- Bludgeon - _Crucify the Priest_
-- Blut Aus Nord - _The Mystical Beast of Rebellion_
-- Boiler - _Cow Tipping in C Sharp_
-- Branded Skin - _Branded Skin_
-- Cain - _Antichrist Declaration_
-- Cannibal Corpse - _Gore Obsessed_
-- Catamenia - _Eskhata_
-- Construcdead - _Repent_
-- Corpus Mortale - _Succumb to the Superior_
-- Dagorlad - _The End of the Dark Ages_
-- Decapitated - _Nihility_
-- December Wolves - _Blasterpiece Theatre_
-- Dimension - _Universal_
-- Dimension Zero - _Silent Night Fever_
-- Disbelief - _Shine_
-- Enid - _Seelenspiegel_
-- Gomorrah - _Night of the Blackened Pentagram_
-- Gortician - _Metal Up Your Cunt: Live in Gorechrist's Living Room_
-- Houwitser - _Rage Inside the Womb_
-- Hypokras - _Dead & Hungry_
-- Immortal - _Sons of Northern Darkness_
-- Impedigon - _As Desires Fade..._
-- In Peccatum - _Antilia_
-- King Diamond - _Abigail pt II: The Revenge_
-- King's Evil - _Deletion of Humanoise_
-- Lock-Up - _Hate Breeds Suffering_
-- Loits - _Ei Kahetse Midagi_
-- Mactatus - _Suicide_
-- Manowar - _Warriors of the World_
-- Megiddo / Rampage - _Apocalyptic Raids: A Tribute to Hellhammer_
-- Mirror of Deception - _Mirrorsoil_
-- My Dying Bride - _For Darkest Eyes_ DVD
- Anathema - _A Vision of a Dying Embrace_ DVD
-- My Dying Bride - _The Voice of the Wretched_
-- Mystic Forest - _Welcome Back in the Forest_
-- Necrosphere - _Revived_
-- Nehemah - _Light of a Dead Star_
-- Nocte Obducta - _Galgendammerung, Von Nebel, Blut und Totgeburten_
-- Obtest - _Auka Seniems Dievams_
-- On Thorns I Lay - _Angel Dust_
-- Ordeal - _Ma|an_
- Sola Translatio - _Ad Infinitum_
- Svartsinn - _Devouring Consciousness_
-- Pain Control - _Subvert_
-- Poema Arcanus - _Iconoclast_
-- Rain - _Starlight Extinction_
-- Rain Fell Within - _Refuge_
-- Rebellion - _Shakespeare's Macbeth: A Tragedy in Steel_
-- Regorge - _Kingdoms of Derision_
-- Reverend Kriss Hades - _The Wind of Orion_
-- Runemagick - _Requiem of the Apocalypse_
-- Satariel - _Phobos and Deimos_
-- Sathya - _Sathya_
-- Sentenced - _The Cold White Light_
-- Serpent's Kiss - _Distant Shores_
-- Soilwork - _Natural Born Chaos_
-- Solekahn - _Suffering Winds_
-- Song of Melkor et al - _New World Blasphemy_
-- The Atomic Bitchwax - _Spit Blood_
-- The Crown - _Crowned in Terror_
-- The Ribeye Brothers - _If I Had a Horse..._
-- Theory in Practice - _Colonizing the Sun_
-- Third Voice - _Moments Like These_
-- Thirteen - _Magnifico Nova_
-- This Midnight Stream - _Cinematic_
-- Unpure - _Trinity in Black_
-- Void of Silence - _Criteria ov 666_
-- Vomitory - _Blood Rapture_
-- Zimmershole - _Legion of Flames_
-- Atropos - _Creature Chthonienne_
-- Conquest of Steel - _Priests of Metal_
-- Demonification - _A Thousand Sadness '00_
- Demonification - _For The People '01_
-- Holochaust - _Holochaust_
-- Lost - _Lost_
-- Lost Soul's Cry - _Age of Forthcoming Chaos_
-- Maple Cross - _Promo 1/02_
-- Secret South - _Pieces of Faith_
-- Slavia - _Gloria in Excelcis Sathan_
-- The Prophecy - _To End All Hope_
-- Urshurark - _Architecture of Perfect Damnation_
-- Catharsis in Doom: My Dying Bride in Portugal
-- The Night After the Night Before: Immortal & Hypocrisy in Portugal
-- Northern Darkness Descends: Immortal and Hypocrisy in England
-- Good, Evil Weekend: The Inferno Festival, Norway
- What We Have Cranked
- Details
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
M""MMMMMMMM dP
M MMMMMMMM 88
M MMMMMMMM .d8888b. dP dP .d888b88
M MMMMMMMM 88' `88 88 88 88' `88
M MMMMMMMM 88. .88 88. .88 88. .88
M M `88888P' `88888P' `88888P8
MMMMMMMMMMM
M""MMMMMMMM dP dP
M MMMMMMMM 88 88
M MMMMMMMM .d8888b. d8888P d8888P .d8888b. 88d888b. .d8888b.
M MMMMMMMM 88ooood8 88 88 88ooood8 88' `88 Y8ooooo.
M MMMMMMMM 88. ... 88 88 88. ... 88 88
M M `88888P' dP dP `88888P' dP `88888P'
MMMMMMMMMMM
This is the column where we print those lovely letters our readers
decide so graciously to write us. Whether they be positive, negative,
ignorant or just plain spelled wrong, you can rest assured that
they'll be here in their original form. If you'd like to see your own
letter here, e-mail it to <mailto:LoudLetters@ChroniclesOfChaos.com>.
All letters received will be featured in upcoming issues of
Chronicles of Chaos.
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002
From: Sabremor <sabremor@gmx.net>
Subject: talking about ideologies is a necessity
Hi
Well, it probably is good for the extreme music scene to talk about
ideas and beliefs, cause if we don't do it, the press and right
extremists or other opportunists will do it for us. So here's my
point of view. I get quite pissed off when i hear anybody talk about
what a "real" metal fan should think or about any pseudo-ideology as
a part of this music genre. Metal means a lot of things to everybody,
but it is definately not an ideology. Maybe some artists are
musically inspired by their ideas; so if burzum's thoughts are what
inspire burzum's music, well fine, it contributes to the whole scene,
just like max cavalera's cultural background made him write his
masterpieces (fuck soulfly :). And if anybody tells me he's his own
god, or that he prays to a roll of toiletpaper, congratulations, good
for them. As long as they're participating in the music scene, i will
respect them for their work and leave them to their beliefs. But it's
just sad to hear people who have little enough personnality to start
reading an album cover as if it were the fucking bible. I hate being
told about the Truth by an brainwashed evangelist just as i hate
being told about Metal ideology by a narrow-minded metalhead. Whoever
thinks a music genre can be an ideology should reconsider his love
for the music. If you're a satanist, who cares, if your a satanist
AND make music, you become interesting. Same if you're a christian.
Which doesn't mean we have to agree on our beliefs. Maybe some people
think you need to have some kind of beliefs in order to create
violent music. First of all, there isn't enough theory to create an
ideology, and then try to imagine excluding anybody who isn't
considered a true satanist, well there wouldn't be much left for CoC
to review... I'm not saying metal is about tolerance, but it isn't
about satanism nor paganism nor witchery nor viking blood either.
Sorry if my english is bad, it's not my mother tongue. Thanks to CoC
for your huge work.
Dave
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002
From: RayRuenes@aol.com
Subject: Prozak's Distorted Metal History and Vision
Greetings!
It's rather pitiful when people with an ideological axe to grind
seek to instill it into, or see it reflected in, every hobby or
endeavor, no matter how unrelated to their politics they might be,
that they undertake, to the absolute exclusion of any concepts that
might disturb their uniform reverie. Prozak admits that conflict is
necessary for any ideology's health, but then goes on to call for the
rejection of any ideology that conflicts with his own in the realm of
metal, which itself is derived in large part and over several decades
from Gospel music. Watch any documentary on the history of rock and
roll and you should find ample acknowledgement of Gospel music's role
in its creation. Is Prozak thus calling for his ideology to become
reduced to "tired homilies repeated by the embittered" by eliminating
conflict?
Musicians are free to bring their own causes and beliefs to the
table and articulate them through their musical talent if they so
wish, despite Prozak's insistent but unjustifiable objections, and
will continue to do so unless people of Prozak's rather totalitarian
disposition wing their way into positions of authority within the
music industry from which they can censor any disagreeable voices.
People, I ask that you apply the same level of critical thinking to
Prozak's manifestos as he would expect you to use when confronted
with anything he dislikes, including Christian expressions of
metal and its various offshoots. Learn to identify unsubstantiated
allegations, such as the supposed lack of a soul or future that he
attaches to "parts of the genre" which he despises. He's just stating
his opinion masked as an axiom. Don't accept on blind faith his
dichotomy between Christianity and intellectualism, nor his other
canards about Christians being "degenerates." Get acquainted with
elementary reasoning; don't fall for ipse dixit, argumentum ad
captandum, argumentum ad hominem, false alternative, apriorisms, and
any other of the host of logical fallacies upon which Prozak relies
as a poor substitute for rationalism, despite his attempts to
redefine the word so that it permits his contrary mental maneuvers.
What's this, fans should stop trying to "accept ideologies like
christianity, humanism and heavy metal in black/death metal"? Am I
wrong in interpreting that to mean that heavy metal's an ideology,
and no trace of heavy metal should be present in black and death
metal?
Sigh.
Metal's not some plot of land for an ideologue to plant a stake in
and then shoot all trespassers. Metal is a trespass. It offends, it
crosses over, and it encroaches (audibly). The fact that the
Christian manifestation of metal triggers such a desperate knee-jerk
reaction on the part of some self-styled metal "purists" (and who
gave them such authority, anyway?) is evidence enough that Christian
metal is certainly carrying on the metal tradition; their uproar will
not herald its death knell, rest assured.
Ramon
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002
From: Conformity@aol.com
Subject: Response to Prozak's Distorted Metal Yadda yadda long winded
whatever.
Spinoza Ray Prozak states in COC#57
"i think drew johnston (conformity@aol.com) exemplifies this
phenomenon best. while he's spitting with venom against nazis, for
example, he is "tolerant" of religions and parts of the genre which
have no soul or future. by behaving in this manner, he is crushing
attempts for this genre to determine what it does believe, and thus
to cease tolerating the rest. metal is an ideological genre, but that
doesn't mean we forget the music."
Apparently I'm being attacked in some manner or another by this
Prozac character. Luckily, I'm foolish enough to engage in any
argument that may float within a five mile radius.
So tell me, do you actually read the words I write, or do they just
pass your eyes, allowing a convenient space for you to watch yourself
talk....?
You are the Al Gore of the entire metal scene. Stop talking. You are
obviously high, having a good time watching the magic symbols appear
on the screen.
I don't know why you're bringing me into this, but I suppose if I
"best exemplify that phenomenon", then it's completely warranted.
Who the fuck is Drew Johnston anyway? Maybe that's some false name I
gave you. I'm not sure. Drew is my first name, however, Johnston...
well, that's another.
From what I gather, and please feel free to correct me, is that
you're angry about the fact that I pay no attention to the lyrics of
a song or the "spiritual ideology" behind it. I don't care about
which faction of nazism tolerates homosexuality. I am a fan-boy
because I care about the music and only the music? Hmm. That's an
interesting idea you've posed. Quite frankly, I can't understand it.
I don't care what the genre believes. Are you fucking stoned? Does
that make sense to you? I don't care if you take the lyrics to the
Backstreet Boys and make it into a black metal song. IF IT SOUNDS
GOOD, I WILL LISTEN TO IT. Why does music have to have some fucking
lame social or political point to it?
At this point, I will resort to childish name-calling.
As I said before, Spinoza, you are a frilly-shirt wearing fag. You're
a nazi, you can't get my name right, you're pretentious about being a
fucking dickhead, and you feel that the purpose of music is solely
for spreading propaganda.
You really think you're going to get your music to move onward into
it's own RESPECTABLE artistic category by intolerance towards the
ideas of others? Hmm. Maybe. Will anyone else be able to appreciate
it? Not unless they're the typical pale, 140 pound, fucking computer
dorks that spend most of their time updating the latest church
burnings and klan rallies.
So remember, if you don't have anything politically minded or
ethnocentric to endorse with your music, you're just a fanboy.
Drew
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T H U S S P A K E T H E W R E T C H E D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC talks to Andrew Craighan of My Dying Bride
by: Pedro Azevedo
The attentive CoC reader may notice that My Dying Bride were
last interviewed in this publication not long ago -- CoC #56, as a
matter of fact, shortly after their latest studio album _The Dreadful
Hours_ [CoC #55] came out. Why, then, would we interview them again
so soon? Well, if you look at our Album Asylum and Chaotic Concerts
sections in this issue, you will find reviews of a live album, a DVD
re-release of a live video tape, and a gig. Yes, My Dying Bride have
been rather active lately, and very remarkably so: their latest opus
_The Dreadful Hours_ was my favourite album of 2001, and also came
second in the overall CoC writers' top 20 [CoC #57], just behind
Opeth. At 8:30pm sharp, my phone rings and I ask My Dying Bride
guitarist Andrew Craighan how he feels about this result.
He thanks me for my personal choice, and acknowledges that
"Opeth are a very good band, so that's not a bad place to be." But
has every review of _The Dreadful Hours_ been positive, or is the
band still being accused of choosing the easy path of going back to
their musical roots? "The reviews have all been very, very good, full
stop. We were accused of choosing the easy option on _The Light at
the End of the World_ [CoC #44], which is something I never agreed
with. Some people just didn't know what to say -- most journalists
who are actually into the band never mentioned this, they just saw
_TLatEotW_ as a great return to form, MDB doing what MDB do best.
Those who were not into the band saw it as a step sideways, or a step
back; I never saw it like that at all. When Calvin [Robertshaw,
guitarist] left [after _34.788%_ [CoC #35]], we had to decide whether
to continue with MDB as MDB or put My Dying Bride in the grave and
start something new, because half the band was gone [including
drummer Rick Myah and keyboard/violin player Martin Powell -- Pedro].
We just decided we can do this, this is what we do and who we are; we
did what we felt in our hearts: cold, miserable, stupidly long songs
that only MDB can get away with. <laughs> Our fans liked it, felt it
was what they wanted to hear from MDB. The experimental crowd didn't
like it, didn't think it was experimental enough for them, but I
don't care -- we don't have to be too outlandish anymore. With Hamish
[Glencross, guitarist] we now have a more stable line-up, a solid
outfit who understand what our brand of blackness and doom is all
about. And _The Dreadful Hours_ is what you get from that. We don't
want to do the jump up and down metal that is popular these days."
It's been a long career -- going on twelve years now -- and the
band must wonder whether they will be able to top such a solid album
next time. What does Andy think about that? "That's a scary question.
I thought _The Light at the End of the World_ was a brilliant album,
but _The Dreadful Hours_ is even better -- I just thought, how the
fuck did we do that?! <laughs> In between the gigs we're already
putting down ideas for when we start to record, and it's a
nerve-racking time -- thinking whether the next album is going to be
better than _The Dreadful Hours_. It's a testing time. We don't know
what we are going to sound like. I just hope we can at least equal
_The Dreadful Hours_, or make something even better. We have some
ideas to make it even more miserable in certain places which should
sound good on CD."
My Dying Bride have recently been doing a bit of touring, and
they traveled down to Portugal and the excellent Hard Club [see
review in this issue]. It was the gig of my life, and apparently it
was rather good for the band as well. I mention the excellent setting
provided by the Hard Club, and Andy immediately agrees. "It's such an
idyllic place. It's a strange place for gigs, such a beautiful
setting, whereas gigs normally take place in industrialized parts of
cities. Myself and Adrian especially enjoy drinking Port wine back
home, so drinking it in Porto was like going to Mecca! <laughs> We
did the whole tourist thing, the gig itself was almost secondary!
<laughs again> But that club is fantastic, it's one of the best I've
ever been to, it just looks great sat there by the river [Douro]. It
was a really special gig for us, too. The band played particularly
well; the night before [in Lisbon] was OK, but in Porto it was as
close as it can get to the band being in top form."
"The gigs have been going very well. We played in Dublin and
Greece recently. We thought the Portuguese crowd was very active and
noisy, but there must be something wrong with the Greeks! We had
never been there before, so they were absolutely ballistic. We
actually got our first ever fan mail letter from Greece, but it took
us twelve years to go there -- it was really special. We had a few
problems in the first Greek gig but managed to overcome them, and on
the second we were on fire. Dublin was OK, but it wasn't the best of
gigs; still, we hadn't been to Ireland for eight years, and we played
for a full crowd. We've been selling out gigs all the time, which is
a massive achievement for MDB."
Although I elaborate on this in my gig review later in this
issue, I cannot avoid mentioning how much the band seems to grow when
playing live, Aaron's vocals especially noteworthy in the live
setting. "It's a bit strange, I have to admit. On record we're quite
controlled -- not too loud, not too distorted, but it's still got the
power. Live we like to do the full heavy metal thing and have
everything louder than everything else, and everything becomes more
exaggerated. The band is playing better live than ever, and Aaron is
in top form -- if I had been in the crowd, I would have been
impressed with Aaron as well. There is a very special chemistry in
the band now, and the crowd reacts very well -- they can't seem to
get their eyes off us, they stare at us and we stare back... and we
like it! <laughs>"
Reviewed below is _The Voice of the Wretched_, their brand new
live album. One thing that quickly became evident to me as I first
glanced at the track listing was the fact that it contained three
songs from my favourite MDB album, 1993's _Turn Loose the Swans_.
"It's just coincidence", answers Andy after pondering for a moment;
"I've never noticed that. We have got quite a career now, twelve
years coming up, and when we play live there's always someone who
shouts for an obscure song that we never play live. We would like to,
but we can't play everything for everybody. But on the Peacefest gigs
[where _The Voice of the Wretched_ was recorded -- Pedro], _The
Dreadful Hours_ wasn't yet fully ready to be played live -- we only
played "A Cruel Taste of Winter", which was later changed for the CD.
So we intended to bring stuff from the EPs -- we actually rehearsed
"The Thrash of Naked Limbs", but in the end decided against it for
some more _Turn Loose the Swans_. It just happened, we wanted to play
some older stuff for our older fans, and everyone says _Turn Loose
the Swans_ is their favourite record, so... but we didn't plan it, it
just is."
Having re-recorded "The Return of the Beautiful" (from 1992's
_As the Flower Withers_) for _The Dreadful Hours_, and now having
included the first song they ever wrote, "Symphonaire Infernus et
Spera Empyrium", in their live set, how does Andrew feel going back
to such old songs? "I don't think we've changed that much in
style and mentality", he replies. "If you look at the style
and composition, those are all very solid songs. When we play
"Symphonaire" live, it fits perfectly into the set, the slow
beginning that grows into total carnage -- which is rather difficult
for us to play now, actually, since Shawn [Steels, drummer] blasts
through it at a million miles an hour. <laughs> A lot of people who
go to our gigs may have never heard that song. Some of the people
won't know the full history of My Dying Bride, and it is a good
opportunity to say that this is what we sounded like ten years ago.
It's good to really blast them out. As for "Return to the Beautiful",
the idea had been bubbling and simmering away since 1997, since the
tour with Dio in America, which lasted for six weeks. It was a friend
of ours from a band called Novembers Doom", he starts. I wonder
whether his name is Paul Kuhr, the band's vocalist, and Andy tells me
I've guessed correctly. He continues: "Paul said we had to re-record
it, that it was such an amazing song, and suddenly everyone was
saying that -- we were thinking whether he had some sort of
conspiracy going! <laughs> Anyway, it eventually happened; we nearly
put it on _The Light at the End of the World_, but the CD was already
full, and then when we wrote _The Dreadful Hours_ we managed to
squeeze it in. We also made the ending a bit more brutal. It was such
a joy; I actually played both guitars, I was so proud of it. I still
prefer the first version, to be honest, but it felt very good, and
I'm glad it's there."
_The Voice of the Wretched_ covers every era of My Dying Bride,
and I ask Andrew an unfair question: which of those eras was his
favourite? "The most enjoyable and care-free time would have to be
around _Turn Loose the Swans_, going into and through _The Angel and
the Dark River_. That's when we did the most touring and we had the
most exposure. The records were very well received and it was a very
nice time for us. It's been brilliant all the time, except when it
started to become very difficult before _34.788%_ -- a product of a
band under extreme pressure from its record label, but I still stand
by that record, which was done under not so nice circumstances."
Did they consider the possibility of moving to a different label
at the time after having been on Peaceville for so long? "We know
Hammy and his wife Lisa [Peaceville label owners -- Pedro] very well
now, but even before we signed to them -- and we were very excited to
sign -- Aaron already knew them reasonably well. We also understand
that they had a business to run. They may like the music, but it's a
business. We trust them to a certain degree, and they're very local
to us, too, which is good. We didn't want to sign with a label from
London -- which, given the connections at the time, would have been
Music for Nations, and I can tell you any band who's with them is in
for fucking trouble. I would be reluctant to leave Peaceville even
now; you can't get this trust anywhere else, and it makes life
easier. Being in a band is hard work sometimes, and you need someone
to rely on, and we feel we can rely on Peaceville."
The events Andrew refers to happened during the time when
Peaceville was temporarily a sub-label of Music for Nations. "When
that contract with Music for Nations finished we were very glad. The
whole problem was coming from Music for Nations; Hammy didn't have
full control over Peaceville anymore, and it freaked him out. The
[Music for Nations] people in London weren't into the music, and it
was difficult for them to grasp a band like MDB -- they got twelve
minute songs and asked "where's our commercial hit?" -- MDB doesn't
do that, fuck that."
Which reminds me of how Anathema, currently on Music for
Nations, have made their way into MTV with a video clip off their
bland _A Fine Day to Exit_ [CoC #55]. "I can't comment", says Andrew.
"I haven't heard anything of theirs for a long time -- the last thing
was their demo _An Iliad of Woes_, actually, which I liked. Since
they became signed to the same label we were on, and their style was
similar to ours, I just didn't want to be influenced. So I've simply
lost touch with what they're doing, although I know they're not doing
metal anymore. I only heard one song off the new record, and it
reminded me of Radiohead -- but I like Radiohead. I know it's
difficult to be in a band and on Music for Nations, so I know the
trouble they're having; but MDB is my main concern."
The brand new live CD is not coming out alone: the _For Darkest
Eyes_ video is being re-released in DVD format [also reviewed in this
issue] with a couple of extra features. "It could have been better",
admits Andrew. "The main problem is that there is not enough new
stuff on it. It's not really Peaceville's or MDB's fault, it's just a
bizarre twist of fate -- after _34.788%_ the band dipped into the
shadows and didn't do much, no videos or recording of gigs. Now,
having released _The Dreadful Hours_, which along with _The Light at
the End of the World_ has put MDB back on the British doom map -- I
don't think anyone else is doing this kind of thing in Northern
Europe --, Hammy and Lisa are really ecstatic with MDB's success, and
it's to their credit as well. So we've got a new format, DVD, what
can we do? Since there was such a dip in the band's activity, there's
nothing new to put in it, so it's just a format change. I was talking
to Hammy about a video for _The Dreadful Hours_ and he was very
enthusiastic. I can imagine we may do an MTV-style video for the next
album."
One of the extras on the DVD is their Dynamo '95 performance,
originally released in a double-disc edition of _The Angel and the
Dark River_. "We enjoyed it a lot, but it was our first gig after six
months, so we were rusty. Rehearsing in a rehearsal room is one
thing, but in front of 3500 people or more, suddenly you're not sure
how to play the songs in a -live- environment. That's the importance
of playing warm-up shows. We learned valuable lessons that night, but
it wasn't the ideal place for that! <laughs> We didn't do any warm-up
shows before Portugal, actually, but we're a bit more long in the
tooth now."
Compared to the Krakow gig featured on _For Darkest Eyes_,
Martin Powell's violin is no longer a part of their music; yet during
the Porto gig, I never had a chance to even think about that. "We've
been fortunate in that respect", he says, "only a few people ever
complain about that. Those who are more open-minded about MDB would
love to see him back, but overall they think it's not the loss they
expected it to be. When we toured for _The Light at the End of the
World_ we wanted to test the water, and we were surprised with
ourselves and the crowd response. We usually mingle with the crowd
after the gigs, which is a very eye-opening experience, and people
weren't mentioning it much at all -- "It is a shame, but you're good
enough without it", and that was a great relief. You can replace
guitar players -- no offence to Calvin, you could replace me too --,
but violin players who are into doom metal aren't easy to find. We
actually rehearsed for a month with a violin player, a young girl
from Halifax, and she could play very well, but once you put the band
around her she was completely lost, and it just wasn't happening. I
actually met Martin a couple of times since then, in a pub near where
we live in Bradford called Rio's -- we usually go there -- and I
talked to him about the good times and it was nice. Maybe he was a
bit drunk, or just giddy from seeing old friends again, but he said
he'd like to play live with us again -- but he's away with Cradle of
Filth at the moment. We didn't fall out in an ugly way at all, we're
still very much friends, so..."
And how does the future of My Dying Bride look like to Andrew?
Is the passion still intact? "I have to admit at the moment I have
more energy for My Dying Bride than I have had in a long time, but
after _The Light at the End of the World_ I wondered if we were doing
the right thing. I have a great fiance, who's a great fan of MDB; I'm
often a miserable twat, but then she reminds me how special MDB is.
I'm feeling very positive -- even though we sing about death and
doom, I'm very happy at the moment. <laughs>"
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O B S E S S E D W I T H T H E I R M U S I C
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher of Cannibal Corpse
by: Adrian Bromley
So, George, how does it feel being in Cannibal Corpse after all
of these years?
"I think it has been a lot of fun being a part of this band. It
was great coming into this band and being a part of it and just
connecting with the music, the band and the fans", begins George
"Corpsegrinder" Fisher about his years of singing for the veteran
death metal act, since taking over the position from original singer
Chris Barnes on 1996's _Vile_. "It has been an experience, to say the
least, and _Gore Obsessed_ [reviewed in this issue] continues on with
my love of being in this band."
"Recording albums with these guys [the band is rounded out by
guitarists Jack Owen and Pat O'Brien, drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz and
bassist Alex Webster -- Adrian] is a lot of fun. It doesn't really
feel like work, more like just having fun and making metal music. It
takes a while to get things rolling, but once we get in the groove,
watch out. It is insane."
Yeah, the vocals on _Gore Obsessed_ are some of the most
violently charged ones I have heard come out of your mouth.
<laughing> How do you prepare for something like that?
"I don't really know. <laughs> I don't really do anything other
than just get all excited to go in there and scream my lines. We'll
run through the songs once or twice to get the voice going, and then
once I am satisfied with that we'll start recording the song,
sometimes one line at a time or a chorus here and there. We break it
down into sections. There is no real secret to how I sound so
intense, really. I just go in there and try to sound as brutal as
possible. I just love listening back to my music and saying to
myself, "Man, that is sick!" I just go for it, really, and feed off
the brutal vibe of the band."
Are there certain songs going into the recording that you tried
to be more brutal with?
Fisher answers: "Yeah, I mean when I have a whole batch of songs
to work with in the studio, there are certain songs that stand out
because of a groove or just have cool riffs. My favourite song on
this album would have to be "Grotesque". I think that song has some
of the best vocal work I have done with Cannibal Corpse. I like a lot
of the songs that we do; especially the songs that have a real
"catchy" feel to them. And some people, when they hear the word
"catchy" they think sell-out, but what I mean is songs with some cool
vocal grooves and heavy riffs that pique one's interest. Songs with a
brutal groove."
The success of Cannibal Corpse is quite impressive, especially
seeing that they have been around now for more than a decade, playing
brutal music and writing about headless corpses, blood and horrific
forms of violence. The band has continued to flourish as the years go
on, as well as continue to write solid material like the stuff found
on _Gore Obsessed_. What does "Corpsegrinder" credit the band's
longevity to?
"I think the band's popularity is still pretty strong and I
think fans wanted the band to continue when its singers changed, and
have been interested with everything we have done since. I mean, it
could have all ended with _Vile_, but fans were pleased with what I
and the band brought to that album. The fans are the main reason we
are still around. They buy our records and come see us play. Cannibal
Corpse tours a lot as well, so we always see fans coming out to our
shows. I also think we put out records on a consistent basis, like
one every year and a half or two years. Then we tour for a year and
then go back into record."
"We are not one of these bands that tours around on buses and
goes around from show to show", he notes. "We don't sit on the bus
all day. We like to, when we can, get off the bus and just hang out
with our fans and talk to them. I think fans realize how happy we are
that they support us and that we are all just fans of what we do.
Having fans is a big deal for us as a band, because it means we are
doing the right thing."
"I just get so much out of doing this", exclaims the singer.
"The music, the fans and being able to go on tour with so many great
bands. I get to see Dark Funeral, Incantation and Pissing Razors for
like 36 shows. That fucking rules! We do a lot of festivals with
great bands and it is just great to tour with all of these bands we
like. It is great to just hang out and just be metal. It feels a lot
like when I was younger and going to the shows and just hanging out
and waiting for the bands to play, but in our case, we are one of the
bands getting set to perform. <laughs> The downside is that when I
see these bands play I can't really go crazy, because I need to play
a show, but one time I'd love to be able to get drunk and rowdy and
just watch them play and not worry about going on next. But I can't,
I need to save my energy for the show."
One can't interview Cannibal Corpse and not ask how things have
been with the die-hard fans over the years, especially those that are
still angry over the loss of Chris Barnes (who now fronts Six Feet
Under). Are there still some angry Cannibal Corpse fans out there?
"There are some people who are still really bitter out there
over what happened with Chris leaving the band and me joining", he
explains. "My point is this. If you really, truly believe we are not
a brutal band, and I go on message boards and read what people say
about us all the time, then I don't think people are really listening
to what we are doing. Cannibal Corpse, while maybe a bit different
and matured over the last few years, is still playing fucking death
metal. I think a lot of this backlash, especially early on when I
joined, was because of this split with Chris. Chris was not the whole
band. I just want people to give it a listen and I know there are a
lot of people who have given the band a chance with me in the band
and really liked it and continue to support us. I just want people to
give it a spin and not just shit on it because of the past changes to
the band."
He finishes by adding, "Bottom line is this: I believed in
myself as a singer and the band believed in me and look where we are
now. A few albums later and we are still cranking out brutal death
metal. So much for the people who thought it wouldn't work out."
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T H E S H O C K I N G S H R E D S O F D I G N I T Y
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC interviews Tom Klimchuck of Pro-Pain
by: Adrian Bromley
They're back, and better than ever.
Not only has New York's Pro-Pain got my full attention in 2002,
they got my undying respect as a band that has evolved over the years
but still kept the solid, aggressive edge intact -- and that can't be
more obvious than with one listen of the band's heavyset groove
agenda called _Shreds of Dignity_.
Having been a fan of the band for years now, I was a little
disappointed with the past two records (1999's _Act of God_ and
2000's _Round 6_), as they didn't kick my ass like the new one has.
So what brought about this more aggressive approach? What set
things off this time around? Guitarist Tom Klimchuck lets Chronicles
of Chaos in on the making of _Shreds of Dignity_.
"I think we approached this record a bit different this time
around and didn't want to limit ourselves with our writing process
this time around. I think sometimes in the past when we came up with
numbers with a lot of groove and heaviness we would try to balance
out the rest of the record with some mid-paced numbers. That wasn't
the case with the new album. We just wrote what came to mind and let
the record write itself."
Seeing that I, the critic, found this record to be steps above
the past few releases in the intensity realm, what was Klimchuck's
reaction to it when he first played it back?
"Once we are done with a record, I usually put it away for a
couple of weeks and try to forget about it and put it out of my
mind", he explains. "We spend so much time in the studio working on
songs for hours and you get so far into them that it takes a lot to
actually sit back and listen to what you have done from an outsider's
perspective. After a couple of weeks of cleansing the pallet and
listening to other forms of music to take my mind off what we have
done I'll go back to the new material and give it a spin. This time
around, I had this real strange feeling. This time it really took on
a different feeling than I had expected, it was a lot heavier and
more aggressive and it really suited the time. It shocked me."
Shocked, eh?
"Yeah, it did hit me in a very unexpected way, but that was
cool. I think this is a really unique Pro-Pain record and it is quite
difficult to make consistent records as you go along. Each time you
write you need to compare with old songs you have written and try not
to be redundant or repeat yourself. After listening to this record,
it would be kind of hard to lump this in with what we have done and
try to find a spot for it. It is a good feeling to know we have done
this, as well it is a good motivation for me knowing that I still
have some good music left in me."
Like all of their hard work in the past, Klimchuck says that the
band -- rounded out by singer/bassist Gary Meskil, guitarist Eric
Klinger and drummer Eric Matthews -- have never really made any
attempt to fit into a certain genre or trend with their music, rather
just focus on making music for themselves, as well as for the fans of
Pro-Pain.
"When we set out to make this record, we knew what was big out
there and what was making money for bands (i.e. nu-metal) and we
didn't want any of that hip-hop grooves or heavy crunchy guitars in
what we were doing, so we made sure we differentiated our sound and
made it more straight-up hardcore or thrash metal, just to make a
point that we weren't going to ride whatever "wave" is out there and
that we plan to do our own thing. And I think Pro-Pain fans are
pleased about that, knowing that our music is not geared to what is
hot out there right now."
And with the album cover colours and image -- a camouflage motif
-- it seems to fitting as it goes along well with Pro-Pain being in
the music business trenches trying to fight a war of sorts to get
noticed and be successful. Am I right or what?
"Yes, you are", laughs the guitar player. "Being in this music
business is like fighting a war. When it came time to think of the
artwork for the album, and the music was already recorded and we knew
it was heavier than what we had done in the past, we decided to go
along with this camouflage idea. Our music has always sort of had
this militant theme to it and it seemed appropriate to bring that
theme back into the artwork for the band. It suits the music too, as
the music is a little heavier and rawer than the past few records. As
well, the battle still rages on for us."
Looking back at what Pro-Pain has done, what has Klimchuck
gotten out of being in the band?
"Making music with this band has been very important for us", he
accounts. "We are pleased when magic happens between the music and
lyrics of the band and the songs just explode with intensity and
creativity. I like to have really heavy music with some really cool,
intellectual lyrics behind what is being sung -- if not, the music
does nothing for me. Pro-Pain always had made sure that the end
result is something that we can be proud of and say: this is
Pro-Pain. This is our music."
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T H E P A T H O F S E L F - R E P H O R M U L A T I O N
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC talks to Davide of Ephel Duath
by: Adrian Bromley
Even in the face of something as severe as losing a key entity
within the band, Ephel Duath member Davide (guitar/synth) is very
optimistic of the future of his band and about how he will get past
this temporary dilemma.
"This is just something I have to face and deal with my own
way", says Davide in a thick Italian accent. "Giuliano (vocals,
guitars, bass, synth and programming) recently left the band because
of personal reasons and that makes me the single composer now in the
band. It'll be a challenge for me for sure."
With their album _Rephormula_ just released via Earache imprint
label Elitist Records, you'd think that this would be a terrible way
for this eccentric avantgarde Italian black metal band to get things
going for a new label.
"That's right, his leaving couldn't have come at a worse time.
It has been a terrible time indeed, but right now I am currently
working with a bunch of musicians who are helping me keep this band
alive and creating music", says Davide with assurance. "Giuliano was
the band's main composer, so his loss is felt strongly now, but I
have had to put things together and try to make things happen and not
let this incident ruin the band. Right now ideas are forming and
things are going very fast for Ephel Duath in regards to new
compositions. I have lots of ideas ready and I trust they will make
the future worth it."
The music of the band is rich of ideas and arrangements,
influenced heavily by older era Emperor, but still flowing with a
real dark, gothic vibe and luscious avantgarde song structures. It
must have taken a long time to get all of these songs assembled?
"You'd think by listening to this record that that was the case,
but in reality a lot of the ideas that Ephel Duath does when
composing songs are very spontaneous. I know the arrangements are
pretty intricate and full of some technical ideas, but we really do
not plan out much. It just flows from within us. We love to have
spontaneity with what we do, a lot of it comes from the initial
guitar lines that act as a skeleton for the song at hand. Then we add
drum machine parts and onto the keyboards and finally the vocals. We
try to keep our ideas very open to every style of influence and bring
that somehow into what we do."
He adds, "For example, now with some of the new stuff we are
working on, '70s prog music is finding a way into what we do. It will
be interesting to see what comes out of this, won't it?"
And what about the influence of black metal giants Emperor, a
band whose sound is no doubt part of the make of Ephel Duath?
"Oh yes", the frontman agrees. "Without a doubt. Emperor was a
huge influence in the early stages of this band and what we had
accomplished musically. If you listen to our demo _Opera_ (which is
included on the release of Rephormula) you can really hear the
Emperor style of vocals and complex guitar parts. Nowadays, while we
still look to Emperor for inspiration and influence, I find that we
are now highly impressed by the works of Opeth, Katatonia, Ulver and
Solefald. As well as what I mentioned above, '70s prog rock (King
Crimson, Pink Floyd) and jazz are influencing what we are creating
too."
With all of these ideas running rampant and multiple influences
tickling the sense of creativity, what instigates the need to write
material for Davide? What gets the ball rolling?
"I don't know, really", he laughs. "It just happens sometimes. I
just start writing. I'll just be there with a guitar and things will
start coming to me -- I am so excited when things start to take shape
and I can put musical ideas together. There is nothing like that. And
now that I am the only composer left to generate ideas, it is
actually more exciting for me knowing that I'll be able to create
numerous new songs and arrangements for Ephel Duath."
Talking to Davide, you really get to feel and hear the passion
in his voice when he talks about the music of Ephel Duath. This isn't
just some metalhead rocker out to right a killer riff and play it
loud and get wasted. This is about making something vivid and
passionate with his musical talent. To bring life to an idea and have
it make an impact on the listener. Davide is a dedicated musician who
believes in his strengths and talents as a musician.
"Music is very important to me, and without it, I would be a
very different person", Davide states. "This is the only way I can
explore and explain my inner emotions to people. I put a lot of hard
work into what I do, and I find sometimes when I write lyrics or
music for the band, I really dig deep into my soul and pull out
certain ideas and thoughts that I can't even seem to comprehend. The
best thing about making music is that I get to express what I want. I
get to control how much I want to give out to the music fans and how
it will be assembled. I also love the idea that strangers get to
experience my own thoughts and compositions."
Davide ends off by saying, "I see my music as a deep experience,
a sort of cleansing of my inner soul. It is hard to explain, but I
think I did my best to let you know just how important this is to me.
It truly means the world to me to create music, and I hope people
walk away from my band feeling that as well."
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T H E Y ' R E B A C K
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC interviews Antti Kokko of Kalmah
by: Adrian Bromley
Finnish act Kalmah's debut disc _Swamplord_ was an eloquent
album, doused with a flare of creativity and folk elements, yet
offering up a sinister melodic death metal vibe. The band's new
album, _They Will Return_, is much more expansive and dynamic than
the debut, changes no doubt brought about by internal conflicts and
the musical growth by these Finnish lads.
"There were a lot of problems that we were facing going into the
recording of the new album. There were some problems in the
band and we needed to get things straightened away and quick",
reveals guitarist Antti Kokko to Chronicles of Chaos. "My brother
[guitarist/vocalist Pekka Kokko] said that we needed to make changes
within the band if we wanted good results with the new album. Our
drummer had left and the bass player quit and we had very little time
to get someone new into the band and get them prepared for studio
work. The new musicians play a bit differently from the past members,
but it all worked out in the end for us and we consider ourselves
lucky."
About the new record and the sound of the band -- which is
rounded out by drummer Janne Kusmin, keyboardist Pasi Hiltula and
bassist Timo Lehtinen -- Kokko says, "Keyboards have a different role
on this album, they are acting a lot more as support for some of the
melodies going on now. It was weird, because when we were having all
of these band problems, I was worried how the album would turn out,
but I think with all of these problems it turned into something good
and we have new members who are bringing new ideas and talents into
the band. The new blood has made this very exciting."
He continues, "We tried a lot of new things with this record.
New vocal styles and a couple of other tricks in the studio, but at
the same time we didn't want to change the music of Kalmah too much.
I mean, we do this pretty well and we didn't want to change too
much."
Does Kokko hear a difference between _Swamplord_ and _They Will
Return_?
"Yeah", he says. "I think there is a much more powerful sound
within the production on the new album. The drums are have this
intense sound. Our new drummer really knows how to move his bass
pedals fast and furious. <laughs> The first album was good, but you
can hear how much better we sound with _They Will Return_."
"When I listen back to the new album, I can't believe how good
this album turned out", says Kokko. "I think of all the hassles and
changes that occurred I am amazed that the record came out great. We
worked hard to make this come out good. Nothing was going right, but
we pulled through somehow. It was a relief to finish this album and I
am very satisfied, as are the rest of the band members, with _They
Will Return_."
Seeing how Kalmah managed to change their sound and style a bit
with the new offering (some were brought on unwillingly), does Kokko
think most bands should evolve with each record or does he think it
is OK for bands to stay the same with each release?
"I think it depends on the band, really. I think if you find
your own style, then why change it?", he points out. "But to keep it
interesting you need to do something new with each album. I am not
saying a metal band has to go from metal band to gothic band with an
album, but slowly bring in some of those gothic elements into the
metal band and incorporate the ideas and see how they work. Take your
time with the music, don't rush it. That is how good bands get
ruined, they change too fast."
Like Metallica?
"Yeah, that is a good example. Like I said, bands who change too
much risk losing fans. Some change because of money, you know..."
Not Kalmah?
"Oh no", he responds defiantly. "We are in this for the love of
music for sure. We put a lot of hard work into Kalmah and I think it
shows. We just want to be satisfied with our music and get it out to
those fans who want to buy. We aren't asking for much, really."
"When I started playing music at the age of eleven, I always
wanted to do this. To be in a band and record albums and tour. I
always wanted to do that and now it has come true and I couldn't be
happier with the way things have turned out", he says gleefully. "I'm
just excited that Kalmah has fans too. I always wanted fans to enjoy
what I do musically. It makes it all worthwhile."
When Kalmah surfaced with _Swamplord_ a while back, the press
and music fans alike were all over what Kalmah was doing. It was
fresh, exciting and offered up something intriguing to the metal
music scene. How did the band react to being in the spotlight?
"That is a tough question", he comments with a chuckle. "When we
found out the first album was going to be released in North America,
we couldn't believe it [the band is signed to Spikefarm, licensed
through Century Media -- Adrian]. It was a huge dream to get an
album released over there and it was happening. The feedback for
_Swamplord_ was great and we didn't know whether to believe it or
not. <laughs> It felt great."
And was there pressure for the sophomore release? "None at all.
I think we know exactly who we are as a band and what we play and we
just went in to record the album that we felt needed to be done."
Kokko ends off, "We have fans out there, around the world, who
love what we do and we knew the album would turn out great and it
did. If fans of the band don't like the new album, then that is OK
too. I'm just glad we got to make a sophomore record."
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A R E A L H I G H
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with Heather Thompson of Tapping the Vein
by: Adrian Bromley
The feeling of success for many artists comes to them in many
levels. Some want to sell millions of records, tour all over the
world and have their faces splattered over hundreds of magazine
covers -- while others just want to be able to create music and have
good enough distribution to get their music out to the fans.
Tapping the Vein singer Heather Thompson just wants to be heard.
Plain and simple.
"I love what I do and I just want people, no matter how many out
there, to just listen to what we create with this band and enjoy it
as much as we do."
The band's debut for Nuclear Blast, titled _The Damage_,
follows two successful indie releases: _Undone_ (a six-song EP) and
_Butterfly_ (a five-song EP). With a lot of hard work under their
belts already, Thompson admits that the band was ready for bigger and
better things by jumping to Nuclear Blast.
"This needed to happen", she admits. "We [the band is rounded
out by drummer/sampler/programmer Eric Fisher, guitarist Mark Burkett
and bassist Joe Rolland -- Adrian] were ready for this and coming to
Nuclear Blast. We released several EPs that we sold at our shows and
through our website and we just wanted to get to the next level. We
tried to get on several other labels in the US but they didn't really
get it. A lot of the label executives were telling us that they
weren't sure on signing something that wouldn't sell. Nuclear Blast
eventually came around and was interested and we felt that we needed
to do this and take advantage of a label that was willing to sign us
and work with us."
And the approach to the debut offering for Nuclear Blast when
compared to the EPs?
"We actually didn't really do anything different to what we had
done with the previous albums. It was pretty much the same thing,
even the same producer as the second EP. The difference was the way
the record was assembled. The album was assembled over a year's time
because of conflicting work schedules and playing shows and just
trying to find time to make all of this work. It was just one problem
after another and we had to work around it."
"If anything, we just tried to get the music out as fast as we
could so that we could get the record out and to our fans who have
been with us for a long time. Being on NBA is also allowing us to
tour and get out to these new cities we have never played before and
to meet our fans -- and gain new ones, hopefully."
While Thompson is proud of being on a big label with massive
distribution worldwide, she is well aware of how the music industry
works and is still very cautious.
"We looked at making the record like this. This may be the only
chance that we be able to put out a record, so we made sure that we
had solid songs and some of the popular songs from our previous EPs."
Was it hard to add new material to work alongside the four songs
("Butterfly", "Beautiful", "Everything" and "Broken") chosen from the
EPs that were already popular amongst their roster of material?
"We really didn't have a problem assembling songs to go along
with the older material", she says. "I'd say pretty much throughout
our career, the band has had the same kind of sound coating the
material, kind of like a electronic feel to things and that carries
on into the new album. Plus with the same vocal styles throughout, it
has kept things consistent, really. I think the older songs are a bit
more metal and goth-ish, but there is a definite consistency, and
when we play them side by side they match well."
"I actually am not a fan of the whole recording process", sighs
the singer about studio work. "I mean, I just can't stand being in
the studio and hearing my voice played back all the time. It is cool
if it works out, but if there are many takes, it gets to me. I prefer
to do the whole performance thing. I get a lot out of just standing
on stage and barring these emotional feelings and thoughts, basically
just being completely exposed to the people in attendance. And at the
end of the song, when there is that total and complete appreciation
for that song, there is no price tag that you can put on that
unconditional acceptance."
She continues, "Just get me on stage and let me go. I think that
is where the magic comes from the band and it just leaves me on such
an emotional high. I think people who have come to our shows will
agree that we do deliver an emotional high live. It really is a
rush."
In closing, I ask why music fans should care about the band and
go pick up the new record. What does Tapping the Vein offer to music
fans?
"Someone asked me that recently, saying, "Why should I buy _The
Damage_?" I didn't really know what to say. I tried to describe the
music and it just ended up sounding really ridiculous with the way it
was being described to them. All I can really say is that the people
who write to us and tell us how they feel about the band and how they
are so excited about the band and the lyrics really makes me feel
good", she states. "It makes me feel good that they are getting
something out of this and exploring our emotions with us."
She ends, "We have always offered up a return policy with the
thousands and thousands of EPs that we have sold, telling fans that
we will buy them back with cash if they are not happy with what they
get, and not one has ever been returned. So I take that as a good
sign and I hope those who pick up the CD will find comfort in what we
do and not want to return it. <laughs> I'm confident they won't."
So am I.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
B L I N D I N G I N T E N S I T Y
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC talks to Konstantin of Kaamos
by: Adrian Bromley
I know, I know, "kaamos" sounds like a fucked up word. I even
laughed about the band name with guitarist Konstantin during his
interview with Chronicles of Chaos. Seriously, I was like, "Um, tell
me about this bizarre band name." He just chuckled and said, "Well,
let me explain it..." and laughed some more. Hell, I even have a hard
time pronouncing it sometimes. But regardless of my slip ups with the
band name and people asking me to repeat myself when I mention the
band (for those who care, "kaamos" is a Finnish word that means
"period of darkness", a time in Finland when the sun won't rise at
all), there is no doubt that Kaamos' self-titled offering on
Candlelight Records is hands down one of the best brutal death metal
releases in 2002. I can't stop cranking the album and talking about
how cool this band is.
"Thanks a lot for being totally into the album", beams the
guitarist as we start our chat. "It feels good knowing that we did a
good record that people can get all excited about. I'm really excited
about this album as well, and I don't think we could have done a
better debut album for Candlelight. I think the reason why this album
turned out so good is because we have worked hard over the years and
a lot of the material is from when we first started the band (1998 in
Stockholm, Sweden). I think this album has a good mix of old and new
songs that really work off well with each other."
And how did the deal with Candlelight Records come about? Were
they the first label to approach the quartet?
"Actually, no", the guitarist states. "There were about five to
seven other labels, both underground and major labels, that had
approached us about a record deal, but we turned them down. In the
end, signing with Candlelight seemed like the right place to sign to
for our debut. They really believed in us."
Seeing that the band (Kaamos is rounded out by bassist/vocalist
Karl, drummer Chris Piss and guitarist Niklas) hail from Sweden, a
country that many metalheads call the "metal Mecca", how had that
music scene affected the band growing up as metal fans and what music
ideas they brought into the band?
Says Konstantin, "When I was growing up here, I was into all the
music, but I never really wanted to be in a band. I really had no
interest."
How did you join a band then? Did someone say, "Hey we need a
guitar player!"?
"No, <laughs> not really... well, sort of", he clarifies. "We
had this gang of friends who used to hang out a lot and they wanted
to form a band and needed a guitarist, so I gave it a shot. The ideas
behind that original band have nothing to do with what Kaamos is now,
but it did awaken my interest in being in a band and making music. I
think that lit my creative spark."
"Ever since Kaamos became Kaamos, I think the evolution of the
band has been very minimal. I think we have worked hard to keep our
sound brutal and pretty much along the same lines as it was when we
started", he says. "We formed out of being tired of all the melodic
metal crap coming from the music scene here in Stockholm. All the
bands were playing the same type of music over and over again and it
was getting boring. We wanted to re-establish the old spirit (in
death metal). It might sound presumptuous, but..."
Hey, good for you guys wanting to change things up a bit and not
go with the flow. That is very cool.
"I think if you listen to our music, you can hear a bit of
Morbid Angel influence, more of the older era of the band. I think
you can also hear the vibe that was part of all those Satanic bands
early on (e.g. Deicide), the common element that all those bands were
working with in our music. In order for us to play this style of
music, we really couldn't go out and make our music very extreme, we
had to go back to the basics and just turn out really evil and dark
music."
I'm not a big Morbid Angel fan at all -- and forget Deicide, I
hate them -- but I dig what Kaamos is doing for sure.
"Wow... really? We all love those bands. Just the sheer
brutality and intensity of what they did back then and now is
killer."
Konstantin hit it right on the head: intensity. That is one of
the key reasons why I think Kaamos' debut disc is really grabbing me
by the throat this year. It is so fucking intense. The band has
basically gone back and brought what seems to be missing in today's
metal scene, but at the same time adding their own character to the
music.
"When I play back this record, I hear a lot of fire in our
music. There is a lot of spirit in what we do. We are not trying to
suppress the spirit in order to create something. We'd rather see the
instruments act as tools to create states that can manifest the
spirits. Sounds weird, huh?"
Yeah.
"We sound like a hippie band, don't we?", he laughs.
And laughing I respond, "You sure do, Mr. Woody Guthrie."
Does Konstantin feel that this album will make an impact on the
metal music scene? How does he want the album to be received by metal
fans worldwide?
"We just want to see some success, but not really in album sales
or whatever else; more in the success of making music", Konstantin
answers. "We don't do this for anybody else but us. We don't really
care how it is received. If people like it, I am happy, but if people
hate it, oh well. I think most bands pretty much feel the same way as
we do."
He ends, "I don't know why people think most musicians want to
sell millions of records and be rich. I mean, we all do, I suppose,
but I think musicians get more out of a good album and good material.
I know I do."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
_____ .__ ___.
/ _ \ | |\_ |__ __ __ _____
/ /_\ \| | | __ \| | \/ \
/ | \ |_| \_\ \ | / Y Y \
\____|__ /____/___ /____/|__|_| /
\/ \/ \/
_____ .__
/ _ \ _________.__.| | __ __ _____
/ /_\ \ / ___< | || | | | \/ \
/ | \\___ \ \___ || |_| | / Y Y \
\____|__ /____ >/ ____||____/____/|__|_| /
\/ \/ \/ \/
Scoring: 10 out of 10 -- A masterpiece indeed
9 out of 10 -- Highly recommended
7 out of 10 -- Has some redeeming qualities
5 out of 10 -- You are treading in dangerous waters
3 out of 10 -- Nothing here worth looking into
0 out of 10 -- An atrocious album, avoid at all costs!
Abigail - _Welcome All Hell Fuckers_ (Drakkar Productions, 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis (8 out of 10)
Abigail were in that category of being one of those bands that I had
heard of but had never paid much attention to and had never really
regarded it worthwhile to make any sort of attempt to track down any
of their releases. After hearing _WAHF_ I realised that I had been
badly mistaken in any assumptions I had regarding this Japanese trio.
If any of their previous releases can match the quality attained by
this MCD -- and the two live tracks included suggest that they have
-- then I have been a fool in not affording them any attention
beforehand. With four originals and two live songs, _WAHF_ is a
standard "gap-filler" CD, something to keep the fans satisfied whilst
they work on their next full-length. The live tracks -- recorded in
Tokyo in 1999 -- are predictably, not to mention obviously, rawer
than the studio tracks. The guitars are a bit low in the mix and are
slightly overwhelmed by the vocals and drums. While the live tracks
aren't as good or entertaining as the original tracks, they are
nevertheless sufficiently good to be entertaining and well worth a
listen, though it would have been preferable to have been treated to
an additional two originals. All the songs are immersed with some of
the catchiest riffs possible. Every single track is uniquely and
easily identifiable as an Abigail song, combining thrash elements
with a strong modern sensibility, so that _WAHF_ never feels at all
dated. Abigail are truly one of the most underrated and original
bands.
Abominator - _Subversives for Lucifer_ (Osmose, September 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis (5.5 out 10)
_Subversives for Lucifer_ contains music that is a hybrid of black
and death metal: music which is of neither of these genres but lies
somewhere on a continuum between the two not-so-disparate genres. The
guitars are too low to be considered black metal and too trebly to be
considered death metal. Similarly, the vocals too do not sit
comfortably in either of these two genres. While they may have not
created a devastatingly original sound, they have succeeded in
creating a sound that is immediately identifiable as "the Abominator
sound". But this in itself is insufficient to rescue this album from
the realms of banality and mediocrity. Furthermore, it in no way
guarantees that the songs presented on _SfL_ are any good -- or even
listenable. The songs have no individual personality and are largely
interchangeable with each other. If one were to listen to any one
song on this release in isolation from the rest of the album, then it
wouldn't be so bad. It won't make any top 10 lists, but neither will
it make any "worst of" lists. Nevertheless, listening to the entire
album from beginning to end is sufficient to test the patience of
even the most ardent metal fan. Then the tendency for everything to
sound alike will come to the fore. More than simply playing as fast
and as aggressively as possible is needed to create a halfway decent
metal song. Basically, once you have heard one Abominator song then
you have heard them all. This is a pity, as Abominator are competent
musicians -- just bad songwriters.
[Paul Schwarz: "Reminiscent in sound of that much-missed
late-nineties death machine Angelcorpse (RIP), Abominator's
all-blasting, all-growling assault is nudged by its PR and its
similarities to the likes of Conqueror into the "war metal" genre as
it exists in their native Australia. Unfortunately, Abominator don't
have the talents of an Angelcorpse, or even a Krisiun, to forge
killer songs from their simplistic riffs and lengthy blast sections,
but for a three-piece they pack an impressive, well-measured punch
and don't induce insomnia the way many "blast metal" bands do."]
Aeternus - _Ascension of Terror_ (Hammerheart, November 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10)
1997 and 1998 saw the unleashing of Aeternus' first two full-length
creations: _Beyond the Wandering Moon_ and _...And So the Night
Became_. Their dense, warlike death metal -- morose, doomy and very
dark -- set them apart as both a rather unique band and one whose
music would not be easily enjoyed by the average listener. It took a
special frame of mind to fully absorb the atmospheric qualities of
their lengthy compositions, but the music could also be quite
rewarding in the end. Anno 1999, Aeternus changed their sound and
direction noticeably with _Shadows of Old_ -- a potent, dynamic slab
of raging death metal that still retained traces of their music's old
warlike atmosphere. The songs were shorter, more dynamic, faster in
pace, and the sound was considerably less dense and morose than
before. _Shadows of Old_ triumphed through the sheer strength and
atmosphere of tracks such as "Dark Rage", its sullen melodies
interspersed with outbursts of speed, raging riffs and powerful
vocals. _Ascension of Terror_, the matter at hand, is the follow-up
to that impressive disc, and its opening track "Possessed by the
Serpent's Vengeance" strongly indicates that Aeternus have not lost
any of their qualities. Alas, it turns out to be one of the mere two
tracks where those qualities seem to remain intact, the other being
"Denial of Salvation". This isn't to say that the rest of the album
lacks pace or strength -- tracks such as "The Lair of Anubis" leave
no doubt about that -- but it does tend to lack some of the old
atmosphere, rushing into things and opting for easier, chunkier
riffs more often than before. Indeed, one can say that Aeternus'
Americanization in style continues; and as a result, the album's
title track is ironically the weakest and most simplistic on the
disc. Nevertheless, in spite of some weaker moments, _Ascension of
Terror_ is still a powerful, bloodthirsty beast that also contains
some of Aeternus' best efforts so far. It's just a shame it isn't
more consistent overall, as its best tracks alone would easily be
worth a more remarkable rating.
[Paul Schwarz: "Essentially picking up where 1999's _Shadows of Old_
[CoC #45] left off, _AoT_ marks no substantial change in style or
delivery over its predecessor -- but this is no bad thing! _AoT_ is
a damn enjoyable, brutal metal record. It is true that it only
differs from its predecessor in being yet-more-bludgeoningly death
metal -- the presence of -those- dodgy string bends being the one
downside to this turn of events --, but yet _Aot_ delivers an
absolutely punishing sonic punch to the face as recompense for its
lack of forward motion."]
Aliengates - _Dark Days Quantum_ (<Independent>, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10)
A 21 minute self-released EP that arrives from Switzerland, _Dark
Days Quantum_ is a serious, well presented showcase of the band's
skills. It contains a brief atmospheric intro plus five tracks of a
thrashy type of death metal with a bit of a nod towards Sweden,
and Gothenburg in particular. Despite being rather unsuitable for
headphones due to problems with the sound balance, the production
-- always an iffy issue with independent releases -- does not
let Aliengates down on loudspeakers. The band is quite competent
instrumentally and able to write good enough songs to allow the EP to
flow nicely, which is an achievement in itself for a young band.
Nevertheless, Aliengates will need to increase the overall intensity
of their music a notch next time around to create more of an impact;
they do have good foundations to build upon, though, and time will
likely be kind to this young band.
Contact: http://www.aliengates.com
Axamenta - _Codex Barathri_ (The LSP Company, March 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (6.5 out of 10)
Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Bal-Sagoth -- any or all of these
names will probably cross your mind as you listen to _Codex
Barathri_. On one hand, Axamenta add little of their own to this
concoction of tried-and-tested styles; but on the other hand, they're
certainly not bad at what they do, unoriginal as it may be. The band
is technically competent, the songwriting is reasonably good and the
production quite decent; yet this disc is still unlikely to spend
much time in my CD player in the future, as it has little to offer
that cannot be found elsewhere. The band is quite good at this, but
not so good as to blow the competition away at their own game. To use
an oft-repeated verdict, this album should be worthwhile for fans of
the genre and uninteresting for everyone else. I would certainly like
to see Axamenta applying their skills to a sound they can really call
their own next time, as they do seem to have enough potential to
succeed.
Contact: http://www.lsp-company.com
Belinus - _Battlechants_ (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley (8.5 out of 10)
Offering up an interesting array of ideas for metal music is
Ireland's Belinus, a wonderfully orchestrated musical experience that
successfully combines Celtic musical stylings with black metal
aggression. The band calls their music "Celtic war metal", and they
aren't far from the truth, as the bombastic sway of the guitar riffs
is spurned forward by the harsh vocal cries and tightened up by a
truly hypnotic rhythm section. Intensity never sounded so in control,
plus the atmosphere of the album (thanks to an adequate production)
is impressive as well. While shades of Absu and older era Cradle of
Filth are apparent in their music, Belinus play strong and steadfast
on numbers like "StormGod" and "Cursus" within this 28-minute EP
"find themselves" musically. A band definitely worth looking our for
as this EP crushes.
Contact: http://belinus.cbj.net
Belphegor - _Necrodaemon Terrorsathan_ (Last Episode, 2001)
by: Matthias Noll (8.5 out of 10)
From Austria comes one of the finest blackened death metal records
I've so far had the pleasure to grace my CD player with. Unlike bands
such as Zyklon or Emperor on _IX Equilibrium_, this doesn't fall into
the trap of being expertly executed but lifeless and ultimately
sterile. _Necrodaemon Terrorsathan_ is a beast of a record that
oozes conviction, unbridled aggression and power. Stylistically
the above mentioned bands cannot serve as a point of reference,
because Belphegor sound rather like a slightly black-metallic,
rabidly blasting and furious early Deicide, and nowhere like the
Norwegian high-tech metal of today. Another plus is the excellent,
natural sounding production, done by the band themselves and one B.
Milunovic, which expertly balances old-school rawness with just
the right amount of clarity. Quite refreshingly, _Necrodaemon
Terrosathan_ is not plagued by the staleness of the mass processing
taking place in certain more famous studios. Belphegor successfully
manage the tightrope walk between being blasting and technical in
places, while maintaining and unleashing the raw power which is at
the core of death metal. A highly recommended release and a band
which is able to give most US death metal bands a lesson in violence.
Buy _Necrodaemon Terrorsathan_ instead of Deicide's _In Torment, In
Hell_ [CoC #57] and Satan will love you!
Berserk - _From the Celtiberian Woods_
by: David Rocher (2 out of 10) (Oaken Shield / Adipocere, Nov. 2001)
Amidst the massively depleted ranks of defenders standing faithful to
the "true black metal" genre, I have been graced to discover a
number of worthy heirs of past masters such as Satyricon, Mayhem,
Darkthrone, Emperor or such purveyors of misanthropic Scandinavian
bleakness -- Sweden's Craft or France's Nehemah are references that
instantly spring to the mind, owing to the ruthless accuracy with
which they recapture and distil the cold, rabid feelings of anguish
and hatred that pervade the classics in the black metal file. As
opposed to this, Berserk are quite the example of a botched attempt
at keeping the proverbial black flame alight; featuring more gross
and cheesy stabs at Satyricon's _Dark Medieval Times_ per second than
I would ever have dared to imagine, _From the Celtiberian Woods_ is
a collection of second-rate symphonic black metal anthems, with
insufficient musicianship and lame production to boot. The guitar
riffs in here are as blatantly unoriginal as they are barely decent
at the best of times, Berserk's keyboard player delivers little more
than one-fingered synthetic "atmospheres", and the lyrics are but a
risible inventory of worn-out sylvan topics, e.g. "The moon is dark,
and the forest our hut where the elements and darkness join up" --
quite terrifying and mystical beyond belief, I suppose. In a rotten
nutshell, I'm sorry to say that the tone-deaf requiem titled _From
the Celtiberian Woods_ is about as convincing as the band's idea of
inserting a road map of Spain featuring a comprehensive list of
Celtiberian tribes on the back plate of this CD.
Beseech - _Souls Highway_ (Napalm Records, 2002)
by: Vincent Eldefors (8 out of 10)
When you put Sweden and metal together you usually think of old
classic death metal like Unleashed, Grave and Entombed, more melodic
bands like At the Gates, In Flames and others, and of course darker
ones like Marduk and Dark Funeral. The Swedish metal scene of today
is luckily a lot broader, something which may not be seen so kindly
by everyone. No matter what, there are plenty of Swedish bands who
have a lot to offer but still haven't been given the attention they
deserve. One of those is gothic metal band Beseech, who have already
released three demos and two full-length albums. Even though I try to
follow the Swedish scene as much as possible, I must admit that I
haven't had a chance to listen to any of their previous releases.
Nevertheless, I am very confident that this is their best material so
far, and they have also signed a new deal with my favorite metal
label, Napalm Records. The line-up has changed slightly since the
last album, with the addition of a new male vocalist, Erik Molarin,
who has a very deep, passionate voice which is very suitable for this
type of emotional metal that Beseech indulge in. It also works very
well in contrast with the female voice courtesy of Lotta Hoglin. The
music is atmospheric and melancholic but still powerful, and I am
glad to say that it is never boring. There aren't many metal bands
who use both clean male and female vocals and manage to keep their
music interesting. Beseech is definitely one of the most promising
bands within their genre at the moment, and if you found the last
couple of releases from Tiamat and Moonspell as boring as I did, then
this is an album worthy of your attention. Also be sure to get hold
of the bonus track, which is a wonderful cover version of the ABBA
classic "Gimme Gimme Gimme".
Contact: http://www.beseech.net
Beto Vazquez Infinity - _Beto Vazquez Infinity_
by: David Rocher (2 out of 10) (Drakkar / XIII Bis, February 2002)
Be warned: this recording is no less than the finest possible avatar
of a corporate musical pull-in. I haven't a clue as to whom
Beto Vazquez may be, or whence he so suddenly arose from, but
it seems that the mainstream musical heavens quite miraculously
opened up to grace his very own project "Infinity" with some of
the most famed musicians and singers available in the genre:
Tarja Turunen of Nightwish, Candice Night of Blackmore's Night,
Jorg Michaels of Stratovarius, Fabio Leone of Rhapsody... and
others yet. It's nothing personal, but set aside the enrapturing
vocal performances of Tarja Turunen or Sabine Edelsbacher (lead
vocalist in Edenbridge), you're left with a very soothing, tragically
boring, mid- to slow-paced fifty-minute concept album similar to
massively watered-down Nightwish (not, of course, that Nightwish are
outrageously muscular), parsimoniously interspersed with the odd
Celtic-sounding flute or tin whistle doodle for good measure;
cute, very relaxing -- you can't after all expect new age music
atmospherics meshed with AOR-style aggressiveness to be massively
invigorating -- and, first and foremost, sedative beyond belief.
Yawn.
Bewitched - _Rise of the Antichrist_ (Osmose Productions, 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis (7.5 out of 10)
Unlike most other bands which deliver Satanic-themed missives,
Bewitched make strong use of retro-sounding thrash rhythms (in
conjunction with similarly dated solo structures). This, in addition
to their over-the-top blasphemous lyrics, makes for a surprisingly
interesting -- not to mention entertaining -- listen. So why does
such a backward-looking album work in the 21st century? There are a
good number of reasons. Firstly, the solos are not extraneous bits of
musical showmanship that do not add anything whatsoever to the song
itself. Solos which really do engage the listener and work with the
song are infrequent, and Bewitched deserve recognition for this
element of their music. Secondly, the solos tend to work with the
song rather than against it, as so many solos are wont to do.
Thirdly, they do write some damn good songs -- the likes of "Under
Satan's Spell" and "The Ripper's Return" are intense, powerful songs.
But despite Bewitched's strong and unmistakable use of thrash
elements, it somehow seems wrong and inaccurate to describe this as a
thrash release -- rather, it is a thrash-inspired release. Whilst I
haven't had the pleasure of hearing any of Bewitched's previous
albums, Bewitched don't give the impression of being innovators, and
I have no reason to believe that there are any significant changes on
_RotA_. Their blatant over-the-top Satan worship does get somewhat
trying after a few songs, but as a whole this is an engaging,
undemanding album, which is likely to spend a not insignificant
period of time on any metalhead's CD player.
[Paul Schwarz: "It took some resolve -- not to mention mantra like
repetition of the creed, "You won't know if you'll like it 'til you
listen to it" -- for me to get through the thirty-odd minutes of
_Rise of the Antichrist_. Bewitched have never impressed me; only
over their atrocious live album, _Hell Comes to Essen_ [CoC #37],
would I choose to listen to _RotA_."]
Black Mass - _To Fly With Demons_ (Grindnoiz Records, 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis (6 out of 10)
I'm not sure whether Black Mass wish to be regarded as a black or
death metal band. The music contained on the album sounds like
mid-paced, brutal death metal; on the other hand, the accompanying
band photo shows the trio adorned in corpse paint, wearing inverted
crosses, black clothes and spiked armbands -- the usual black metal
trappings and attire. Similarly, song titles such as "Invocatium
Satanas" and "To Fly With Demons" suggest a preoccupation with the
same lyrical and ideological topics as their grim-faced Norwegian
peers. So I guess that although musically this is, without a doubt,
death metal, it is black metal in attitude. As a black metal album,
the growls and mid-paced tempo of the songs provide an interesting
break and a much-needed respite from the relentless speed and banshee
screams that characterise much of black metal. As a death metal
album, it sounds awfully generic, with nothing to distinguish _TFWD_
from the hundreds of similar sounding death metal albums from the
early '90s. Nevertheless, there are a couple of decent songs
-- especially "Altar of Ill Repute" and "Continual Darkness".
Unfortunately, the inclusion of two above average songs coupled
with the novelty of black metal masquerading as death metal is
insufficient to rescue this release from the domain of the mediocre.
Admittedly for those who listen exclusively to black metal this might
sound fresh, but those with a broader musical appetite will recognise
it for unremarkable album it really is.
[Alvin Wee: "Old-timers of the scene remember this cult combo from
their countless number of demos, and comparisons will no doubt be
made with Nunslaughter both music- and status-wise. Hints of classic
Morbid Angel and Incantation invariably pop up amidst the guttural
chaos, but I expected a little more considering the cult status this
combo has gained. Ordinary blackened death that troops like Avenger
and Arghoslent do way better."]
Contact: Black Mass, c/o G&N Entertainment, 544 Logan Street,
Frederick, MD 21701, USA
Blood Duster - _Cunt_ (Relapse Records, 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis (5 out of 10)
Whilst Blood Duster are essentially a grindcore band, this
description is largely inaccurate due to the groove underlying all
the songs. A better description would perhaps be "stoner death" -- if
possible, imagine Kyuss playing death metal, and that will provide a
good idea as to what this album sounds like. Highly irritating are
the sexually orientated samples that act as intros for many of
the songs. Inclusion of these samples may be shocking to, say,
Catholics, but Blood Duster's target audience are unlikely to find
the samples shocking or cutting edge; merely tired. They are not
shocking nor disgusting; rather they suggest that a couple of
sexually frustrated, hormone- laden fifteen year olds had a hand in
the construction of this album. Meanwhile, song titles such as
"Atracksuitisnotappropraitemetalaparel" and "Speven" suggest that AC
rather then Carcass served as an influence for Blood Duster. Songs
such as the aforementioned are initially amusing, but the novelty
quickly wears off and one is left with what is at best a rather
mediocre album. This would be a good album to put on to have a good
laugh with a couple of metalhead friends, but beyond a few cursory
listens this is unlikely to get played after the first week or so.
[Paul Schwarz: "Bass-ridden, crusty, punchy grunt-grind, unsoiled by
skilled hands or forward-thinking brains. Short, simple and lacking
even a grasp for real emotion, _Cunt_ left me entirely cold. If
there's a point to basic-form grind/death with no outstanding
qualities, could someone explain it to me, please?"]
Bludgeon - _Crucify the Priest_
by: David Rocher (6 out of 10) (Magic Circle/Metal Blade, March 2002)
Chicago's thrashers Bludgeon have been granted the remarkable honour
of releasing their debut album on Joey DeMaio's own label, Magic
Circle Music -- promising auspices to their career indeed. With this
said, however, despite the fact that _Crucify the Priest_ is an
enjoyable recording, Bludgeon have yet quite a way to fare before
becoming anything comparable to the Manowars of thrash metal --
although an amusingly healthy "we are heroic thrash metal warriors"
stance already pervades this first recording. Technically speaking,
Bludgeon have more than their fair share of abilities, and _Crucify
the Priest_ teems with awe-inspiring rhythmic power, frantic drumming
antics and powerful, catchy low-case riffing; only the vocals stand
out as a notably lacklustre performance, owing to rhythm axeman and
vocalist Mark Duca's choppy, uneventful and unemotional elocution.
However, with these qualities spoken about it, _Crucify the Priest_
sadly fails to hit home; as undefinable and irritatingly ethereal as
it may sound, there is something that Bludgeon lack -- they run for
the raucous power of death metal, yet fail to fully recapture the
lethal intensity inherent to that style; they strive to display the
mean bite of cult Bay Area thrash outfits of yore, but fail to
produce the razor-sharp aggressiveness and rabid meanness thrash is
all about; and finally, industrious and dedicated as they may be,
Chicago's four-piece simply seem miss the brilliance that tells a
decent recording apart from a great release. This is however only
their first release, so hopefully, their second recording may release
the savagery that feels so withheld on _Crucify the Priest_, and thus
turn out to be the blasting chunk of hate I would have liked to
discover in the guise of this first attempt.
Blut Aus Nord - _The Mystical Beast of Rebellion_
by: David Rocher (4 out of 10) (Oaken Shield / Adipocere, Nov. 2001)
It has now been nearly a decade since the mysterious and prolific
character Vindsval (Blut Aus Nord, Children of Maani, The Eye) began
lurking in the French extreme metal underground scene with his
haunting works. Set aside Children of Maani, which disclosed his
interest for oriental-sounding tonalities, both his other projects,
The Eye and Blut Aus Nord, have always been a scarcely concealed
tribute to Grishnack's songwriting and the "truest" slants of the
black metal genre's ideals. After a lengthy pause, Vindsval is now
back with a third Blut Aus Nord album which, to gather it in a
nutshell, should satisfy his existing fans, yet will also predictably
fail to earn him any new ones. The chilling, spectral tonalities of
Blut Aus Nord's previous releases, _Ultima Thule_ and _Memoria
Vetusta I_, still pervade this act of self-acclaimed "Undaground
Musical Terrorism", with what feels like more emphasis on the
characteristic icy feel, less bombastic keyboard effects and more
streamlined, stripped-down song structures -- bleakness indeed. Alas,
despite the chilling atmosphere that this third release irradiates,
the traditional linearity inherent to Vindsval's works soon becomes
as wearing as the constant 4/4 drum machine battering this album
never seems to part ways with; hence, although some tracks stand out
as fine examples indeed of haunting black metal anthems (as the track
"Chapter 4: The Fall"), most of the material on this album soon fades
into a blurred shroud of uneventful musical nothingness. Vindsval's
devoted following and raw black metal aficionados thriving on
repetition-induced atmosphere can safely turn to this release, but
metalheads who enjoy any form of dynamics in their albums would be
well advised not to heed any particular attention to this release.
Boiler - _Cow Tipping in C Sharp_ (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley (5 out of 10)
Ithaca, New York's trio Boiler are good at what they do, I'll admit
that, but the music they play is a tad annoying. I've never had
problems with bands who play "groove metal" (think Prong with shades
of Pro-Pain and Machine Head), but it's just that the music of this
trio sounds a tad forced, especially the vocals. The band's _Cow
Tipping in C Sharp_ is a rollercoaster ride of aggression and
grooves, but rarely did this listener feel compelled to mosh or be
moved by the groove; rather I was cringing at the next round of
aggressive grooves ready to be played. I've seen some good press
about this band and I can understand what people like about them --
they are tight and have a groove -- but I can't get into them. I
think there comes a time in any reviewer's life where they just feel
very numb about a band and nothing the band does will intrigue them.
I think I have reached that point with Boiler, though I must admit I
like the track "The Beautiful Terrible".
Contact: http://www.boilerny.com
Branded Skin - _Branded Skin_ (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis (7 out of 10)
German band Branded Skin certainly deserve to be commended for not
sitting around on their asses waiting for some or other record deal
to maybe materialise sometime in the unforeseeable future and for
taking the initiative to record and release their debut album by
themselves. _Branded Skin_ consists of eight tracks of mid-paced
death metal. At just over 22 minutes, they have adopted an old-school
punk approach to songwriting, with the average song length being just
under three minutes. (It should be mentioned that despite being
marketed as full-length, it is priced as though it were an MCD.)
Similarly, like many bands of punk's second wave, they too eschew
leads in favour of down-tuned riffing. But this is where any
similarities to the punk of yesteryear end. While their use of the
guttural vocals and measured bass-heavy guitar on this album is to be
expected, and the album itself doesn't really offer anything that
could be considered original, it is nevertheless better than many
similar titles on the market and it does make for an enjoyable,
unpretentious listen. A promising debut.
Contact: http://www.brandedskin.de
Cain - _Antichrist Declaration_ (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10)
Quite an adventurous and loud burst of energy found within solo
artist Cain's three-song offering _Antichrist Declaration_. Declaring
his work as "industrial black art", Cain ravages the listener with
intense, cold industrial rhythms meshed together with some brutally
frightening black metal angst. The result is a hyper kinetic groove
full of banshee-like wails and clanking metal aggression. While short
in its attack, the music of Cain makes up with the creative flow of
the material, especially on the title track. Nothing much more to say
except that this is an interesting release that'll find its audience
through continuous experimentation.
Cannibal Corpse - _Gore Obsessed_ (Metal Blade, 2002)
by: Matthias Noll (6.5 out of 10)
Did you ever try to wrestle with a living eel? You'll most likely
find out that the slimy creature manages to escape your grasp with
ease. I get a similar feeling from Cannibal Corpse's newest output,
_Gore Obsessed_. Even after listening to this CD approximately
fifteen times, I still seem to be unable to remember anything but the
somewhat catchy track "Pit of Zombies" and the Metallica cover "No
Remorse" -- the latter unfortunately only for the fact that it's a
Metallica cover. While others might have similar feelings about
all CC output since _The Bleeding_, I was rather impressed with
_Bloodthirst_ [CoC #44] and also enjoyed _Live Cannibalism_ [CoC
#52], and might therefore be more disappointed than the ones who have
written off Cannibal Corpse years ago. I'm not saying that _Gore
Obsessed_ is a bad album -- it's full of 100% typical Cannibal Corpse
material, but it fails to leave almost any impression at all due to a
lack of more than a few outstanding moments. Production-wise, Jim
Kernon's work is leagues above every album they did at Morrissound
but is still comes second to the brilliantly heavy job done by Colin
Richardson on _Bloodthirst_. For fans of Corpsegrinder-era Cannibal
Corpse, _Gore Obsessed_ is definitely a must, but in the death metal
world of 2002 I do not see why anyone else would feel the need to buy
this record.
[David Rocher: "Awe-inspiring new sound -- courtesy of the genial
soundsmith Neil Kernon --, yet bluntly, same gut-gargling stuff;
Cannibal Corpse are by now about as predictable a phenomenon
in their ultra-brutal pus-sodden microcosm as Iron Maiden are
emblematic to the whimsical universe of tight-fitting spandex
paraphernalia. With this said, _Gore Obsessed_ remains a thoroughly
enjoyable chuck of growling, blasting and surgically mean musical
manslaughter assaults, an adrenaline-laced discharge of bellowing,
seething death metal hate, with outstanding technicality to
boot. Dispensable beyond all doubt, yet strangely compelling and
unquestionably vehement; as you will have grasped by now, _Gore
Obsessed_ is Cannibal Corpse displaying great proficiency at being
their own bad, rotting selves -- all the way down to the risible
uncensored cover art."]
Catamenia - _Eskhata_ (Massacre Records, 2002)
by: Vincent Eldefors (7 out of 10)
If I were to say that I am a black metal purist, I would definitely
be lying; but I am a very open-minded metal fan and enjoy everything
from progressive and power metal to black metal and grindcore.
Therefore, I will attempt to review this fourth full-length album
from the Finnish band Catamenia. Unlike their neighbouring countries
Norway and Sweden, Finland hasn't really had a tradition of producing
famous black metal bands, but for the last five or ten years the
Finnish metal scene has been the arena of some explosive development.
Bands like Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Sentenced, Amorphis, Nightwish,
Children of Bodom and others have had great success all over the
world. Most of these are hardly black metal bands, but Catamenia are
for sure. Catamenia have been brave enough not to use the Spinefarm
trademark -- a massive use of keyboards -- even though Kalmah drummer
Janne Kusmin actually handles the sticks on this release. This is due
to the fact that the band have lost their former drummer Mika
Luttinen (Impaled Nazarene), while their female keyboard player Heidi
Riihinen has also decided to leave her dark brothers. Catamenia's
brand of black metal is majestic and melodic, sometimes almost a
little pompous. I am one of those who often criticize bands saying
that speed is not everything, but in this case I would like to do the
opposite. There are plenty of slow atmospheric passages on this
album, but they are unfortunately rather boring. The faster tracks,
on the other hand, are very well performed. Catamenia may not be the
most original band on the planet, but they are still high quality
performers of the black arts. Top picks: "Storm", Rain of Blood" and
"Landscape".
Contact: http://www.catamenia.net
Construcdead - _Repent_ (Cold Records, 2002)
by: Vincent Eldefors (7.5 out of 10)
Most fans of extreme metal know bands like Darkane, Soilwork, The
Forsaken, The Defaced, The Haunted and others who have been popping
out of the Swedish scene for the past five or so years, mixing the
speed of thrash metal with the technicality and brutality of death
metal. These bands are often recognizable by strong growled vocals
that sound clean in a very weird way and musicianship of a very high
level. One of the newest bands to be added to this list is
Construcdead, who hail from the Swedish capital, Stockholm. These
guys are not new to the metal scene, though, and here we can find
Erik Thyselius from Terror 2000 -- a band that also features
Darkane's Klas Ideberg. If I were to say that Construcdead is a
groundbreaking band I would not be telling you the truth, but if you
like some of the bands I mentioned in the beginning of this review,
then you will certainly want to check out this release as well. The
album is being released on a newly formed independent Swedish label
called Cold Records, but the production is of a very high quality and
this album could easily have been released by a label like Nuclear
Blast or Massacre Records. The Swedish metal scene is growing day by
day, and this is certainly not the last we will see or hear from
Construcdead. It is not a coincidence that Soilwork chose to take
them along on their Japanese tour. Just listen to the track "I've
Come to Rule" and you will understand why this band will be part of
the Swedish elite for a long time to come. Except for the foolish
name, this is a great band.
Contact: http://www.construcdead.com
Corpus Mortale - _Succumb to the Superior_ (<Independent>, June 2000)
by: David Rocher (7.5 out of 10)
Hailing from the same Danish town as extreme metal purveyors
Mighty Music, the death metallers Corpus Mortale have been roaming
the underground since the spring of 1993, their self-released
_Succumb to the Superior_ being the sequel to their 1996 MCD
_Integration_. Lurking somewhere between the blasting technical
standards of American death metal and the heavier, more raucous tones
of Scandinavian metal, _SttS_ features four tracks of powerful,
catchy and competently interpreted death metal -- though be warned
that nothing particularly unconventional appears in sight on this
release; nowt in fact but streamlined efficiency and raging power
galore, graced with a clear, crisp production. Probably more than a
mere coincidence, Corpus Mortale's material does bear hues of
Iniquity's catchy release _The Hidden Lore_, in the guise of the
twisted riffing, powerful blasts and unrelenting intensity (hardly a
surprise, since Corpus Mortale in fact features ex-Iniquity axeman
Brian Eriksen on guitar and vocal duties); from grinding assaults to
displays of utterly crushing heaviness, Corpus Mortale prove to be
well and truly at ease with every vicious musical streak the death
metal genre. If the cantankerous reviewer in me ultimately were to
begrudge Corpus Mortale for anything, I would say that their
material still requires to develop further power and personality for
them to stand out amidst the hopelessly overcrowded death metal
scene. _Succumb to the Superior_ nonetheless remains an undisputably
commendable effort, available for a measly 5 USD (plus 2 USD for P&P)
at the address below -- a worthy opportunity to do something for the
real death metal underground out there.
Contact: Corpus Mortale, c/o Nicholas Mascholn,
Vesterbrogade 29F 3 tv., 1620 Kobenhavn V, Denmark
mailto:corpus@worldonline.dk
Dagorlad - _The End of the Dark Ages_ (The LSP Company, March 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10)
_The End of the Dark Ages_ is labelled in the promo sheet as "epic
fantasy black metal", which together with the album title made me
hope for Summoning and fear I might end up getting Bal-Sagoth
instead. In the end I got neither, as Dagorlad manage to elude
excessive proximity to any given band's sound. They do combine some
influences from acts such as the ones mentioned above (more Summoning
than Bal-Sagoth, fortunately), as well as medieval and horror-film
touches, and a sound which, to a certain degree, reminds me of
Oxiplegatz's cosmic oddity _Sidereal Journey_ (how's that for an
obscure reference?). This last observation can be partially explained
by the artificial drumming common to both records, but also extends
to other occasional similarities. Ultimately, Dagorlad have created a
very decent, reasonably varied and not excessively conventional
album, and show sufficient talent to create some atmosphere and keep
the listener interested most of the time -- although there are some
exceptions to that rule, as things sometimes do get a bit repetitive.
Nothing groundbreaking here, but still a disc with enough quality and
individuality to deserve a chance.
Contact: http://www.lsp-company.com
Decapitated - _Nihility_ (Earache, February 2002)
by: Paul Schwarz (7.5 out of 10)
Toppling bands from the pedestals you feel they have been wrongly
placed on by others, is often a satisfying thing to do. In cases
where these "others" are a mainstream magazine who seem to elect,
rather than carefully -select-, a band from the underground to be
their new 'hot tip' every now and again, there's even a feeling of
'setting the record straight'. But you have to abstract yourself; you
can't blame a band for the over-hype that others give them; venting
personal frustrations or pursuing personal vendettas at the expense
of actually trying to engage with and critically appraise the music
which is, at its heart, the subject of their review, is the most
shameful of traps for a journalist, a -critic-, to fall into --
though it is also one of the most common. In Decapitated's case more
than most, it would also be a shameful injustice, for this is a band
who -do not- get above themselves, despite the fact that they are
openly offered the chance to. Decapitated are a humble bunch --
that's why, at first, it feels mean and unnecessary to topple them
from their current press perch, in the UK at least, as the new
future, the new rebirth, of death metal. But then, honesty -is- the
best policy, and death metal -- at its true core, that core that has
lived on, handed down through a fluctuating handful of bands over the
years -- is all about honesty. So I'll be honest. Decapitated's
second album is good -- it's -way- above average -- but it just isn't
by any means -great-. It's not technical ability that is lacking;
Decapitated, though young, are among the most technically proficient
musicians to ever play death metal. What is really lacking though, is
songwriting ability and -edge-. The riffs on _Nihility_ certainly can
be tricky -- often helping unbalance already-mutated percussion-work,
and not rarely spiraling into unexpectedly complex and intricate
shapes -- but they're just not all that excellent: they just don't
quite hit the spot. All the instrumental work is technically
impeccable, often impressive and occasionally attention-grabbing,
but the result is not truly -addictive-. Decapitated just don't
fuse into a single, inexorable entity like a brutal, aggressive
death metal like themselves should. The musical elements present
are crudely brought together, and there is a serious overall
feeling of separation -- not aided (though also not originated in)
a powerful-but-dry production. At present, only -one- individual
element is in need of serious improvement: Sauron's vocals. They may
be brutal -- and impressive, if not harmonised -- but they are
almost completely without character -- and character is something
Decapitated definitely need more of in their music. The snapshot
this album offers may be disappointing for those who hoped that
Decapitated would leap and bound out of the starting gate and flatten
the death metal scene in one fail swoop -- but this isn't to suggest
that many outside that same scene's uppers echelons today can make
albums as good as _Nihility_. That alone is a mighty accolade for a
-young- band comprised by a -young- group of musicians to earn.
Decapitated have plenty of time to grow -- they're not gonna be 'past
it' for a long time yet -- but I think concentrating on writing
cohesive, encapsulating death metal songs, while worrying less about
utilising technical ability, would do them the world of good -- and
make them into so much more than, as yet, they are.
December Wolves - _Blasterpiece Theatre_ (Wicked World, May 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (6 out of 10)
Having been one of the half dozen people who seemed to notice and
enjoy the band's previous record _Completely Dehumanized_ -- a harsh,
gritty blast of urban black metal --, and after a four year long
period of silence from the band, I was quite interested in hearing
what they were up to these days with _Blasterpiece Theatre_. Alas, it
seems that too much time has elapsed between albums, as December
Wolves sound like a band who's grown tired of their own sound and
felt the need to twist and distort it almost beyond recognition.
Knowing _Completely Dehumanized_ and now listening to _Blasterpiece
Theatre_, it sounds to me as if I missed an album in between these
two -- only there wasn't one. The December Wolves of _Blasterpiece
Theatre_ are a far more technological, deranged, psychotic beast than
the cold and misanthropic band one could hear on _Completely
Dehumanized_. _Blasterpiece Theatre_ overflows with samples, sound
effects, artificially distorted vocals and instruments, and the
entire concoction is only reminiscent of the previous album in some
respects. The subtle melodic leanings buried amidst the harshness of
_Completely Dehumanized_ is one of the most significant victims of
the band's new sound. The music on _Blastperiece Theatre_ does indeed
have a lot more to do with what might be brought to one's mind by the
album title rather than the band's name. The samples thrown in
between the tracks generally succeed in setting a suitable atmosphere
for the music, but those that consistently mingle with the guitars
are hardly ever anything but annoying. This is especially true when
one considers the noisy, abrasive production -- one that is not quite
as misanthropic as Ulver's on their _Nattens Madrigal_ [CoC #21], but
then _Blasterpiece Theatre_ fails to benefit from it in terms of
atmosphere the way _Nattens Madrigal_ does. What December Wolves have
tried to do most of the time is unfortunately so hyperbolic and
chaotic that the better passages are diluted in the fury of sounds
and constant changes that whirlwind their way through the entire
album. This is an eminently headache-inducing record that contains
plenty of interesting ideas and could have been a lot more enjoyable
if the band had managed to articulate them better.
Dimension - _Universal_ (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley (5 out of 10)
I found it kind of cool to receive a progressive metal release from
Mexico, as we at Chronicles of Chaos usually receive mostly death
metal and black metal bands from that part of the world. No doubt
highly influenced and inspired by solid progressive metal acts like
Dream Theater and Fates Warning, this Mexican quintet play their
hearts out on this album, but at times it sounds like they are trying
too hard. Some of the problems I found myself a little irritated with
on the album included the vocals and their delivery. They sound a tad
forced to go along with the rapid, quick-change flow of the music.
Also, the keyboards sound too loud in the mix. While there isn't a
lot of it here, when the keyboards do come into the picture, they
take center stage, when they should be part of the musical collage.
Dimension is a band that plays their music superbly (check out
majestic nine-minute opener "Strategy", "Vanity Calls" and "Universal
Mind"), but need a little bit more tweaking before they can be put on
the same pedestal with the bands they obviously admire.
Contact: http://www.dimensionshome.com
Dimension Zero - _Silent Night Fever_ (Regain Records, February 2002)
by: David Rocher (10 out of 10)
It has taken this glorious blasting bunch over four years since the
inception of the four-track MCD, _Penetrations From the Lost World_,
to release their first full-length, cryptically titled _Silent Night
Fever_ -- and trust me, o rabid followers of the Swedish death metal
genre, it has been a worthwhile wait indeed. This all-star thrashing
Swedish act -- fronted by ex- and current In Flames axemen Glenn
Ljungstrom and Jesper Stromblad, a line-up rounded off by Marduk's
former screamer Jocke Gothberg and Diabolique's skinsman Hans Nilsson
-- have spawned an album which shall not only stand out as one of the
finer efforts released this year, but is also doomed to become a
monolithic milestone in the Gothenburg death metal landscapes. There
is, so to say, nothing even slightly new on _Silent Night Fever_; but
simply, from the searing first bars of the eponymous opener to the
brooding finale "Slow Silence", Dimension Zero display a sense of
powerful melody and cohesiveness in the musical field which ninety
percent of the bands in the "Gothenthrash" genre can only hope to
attain in their wildest dreams. Graced with genuine thrashing
aggressiveness and unbelievable melodic potency to boot, _Silent
Night Fever_ is an unrelenting nine-track sonic assault which never
loses its focus on sheer grinding brutality (courtesy of Dimension
Zero's foaming-at-the-mouth drummer Hans Nilsson, who mistreated
skins for the brutal deathsters Liers in Wait in his early years),
yet wisely releases its crushing pressure every now and then, such as
the beautiful acoustic segue on "Not Even Dead" testifies to. The
frantic level of musical intensity pervading this testimonial gem
never recedes, except to announce another forthcoming metal onslaught
of a track; hence, just as the comparatively slower "Not Even Dead"
closes off, the incredible searing number "They Are Waiting to Take
Us" kicks in hard, precisely, and mercilessly. There is honestly
nothing that I can hope to criticise on this album, no matter
how hard I attempt to point out its flaws; even though the
reworked version of Dimension Zero's 1997 vintage track "Through the
Virgin Sky", having traded some lethal velocity (and alas, Fredrik
Johanson's wicked lead) in for some chunky heaviness, does require a
little time to get used to, it soon also shines with virtues
and wonders of its own. _Silent Night Fever_ is one of those
comparatively rarer albums which will leave both addicts of the
Swedish melodic genre enthralled and gasping for air, but will also
certainly appeal to followers of more brutal, direct and angered
death metal -- a flawless release, which boldly lives up to the high
expectations _Penetrations From the Lost World_ failed not to induce.
Disbelief - _Shine_ (Massacre, 2002)
by: Matthias Noll (7 out of 10)
After reading a report about the work on _Shine_ which left me under
the impression that the band was rushed into the studio to have the
album ready before the 2002 No Mercy festivals, my alarm bells
started ringing. I was not really surprised to find _Shine_ inferior
to its brilliant predecessor _Worst Enemy_ [CoC #54]. It's pointless
to speculate whether the results would have been better had the band
had more time to prepare and record their new tracks. The fact is
that both the song material and the production are far less crushing
and intense than _Worst Enemy_. Besides the overall less dynamic
nature of the songs, this may partially be the fault of a lacklustre
drum performance on most tracks. Drummer Kai would be well advised to
seek some inspiration on Katatonia's _Last Fair Deal Gone Down_ [CoC
#52] for drumming to mid-tempo material in an interesting fashion.
Stylistically the band has remained easily recognizable and unique
with their Voivod meets Neurosis meets Bolt Thrower approach. It's
just the engine, i.e. the Bolt Thrower part of this mixture, which
seems to be a bit powerless this time around. Instead of the crushing
heaviness which dominated large parts of _Worst Enemy_, _Shine_ sees
the inclusion of some lacklustre clean vocal passages and a few
tracks which, as far as the instruments are concerned, sound like
present day Katatonia. Overall, this record still is far from being a
happy affair and even if the approach is slower and less brutal,
_Shine_ oozes brooding despair. Singer Jagger deserves a special
mention again for his insane vocals, which sound like the death metal
equivalent of Count Grishnack's tortured screaming on _Hvis Lysett
Tar Oss_. It's a shame that despite all the originality and talent
available this is clearly inferior to _Worst Enemy_ and therefore
only worth 7 out of 10 for me.
Enid - _Seelenspiegel_ (Code666, February 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (6.5 out of 10)
One cannot deny the obvious technical merits Enid possess; yet
at times _Seelenspiegel_ still manages to be one of the most
cringe-inducing records I have heard in quite a while. Enid boasts
liberally about the quality of the drumming both in the promo sheet
and the nicely presented digipak itself; and indeed the drumming is
quite noteworthy throughout. The band mixes plenty of medieval
touches with its power metal and some blackened vox. The raspy vocals
are mediocre but tolerable; the cringing is caused essentially by the
happier-sounding passages and the clean vocals: not that the vocals
are -bad- or technically poor -- quite the contrary -- but they
certainly take a -lot- of getting used to. Fair enough, they enhance
Enid's uniqueness, but such vocals are difficult to enjoy without
having a very particular taste for the style. Having said that, if a
more medieval style of vocals with what seems to be a touch of
classical training sounds good to you, and if you crave for
good medieval / fantasy power metal, then _Seelenspiegel_ comes
recommended, as Enid are competent songwriters and a technically
proficient band. But if any of this sounds even vaguely foreign to
your taste, however, then heed my warning: Enid are good, but they
definitely will not be to everyone's liking and are very likely to
cause an unusually wide spectrum of reactions depending on the
listener's taste.
Contact: http://www.code666.net
Gomorrah - _Night of the Blackened Pentagram_
by: Quentin Kalis (5 out of 10) (Unsung Heroes, November 2001)
Gomorrah perform mid-paced black metal, though it must be said that
they perform black metal slower then any other black metal band that
would be described as mid-paced. So the music contained within is
something a bit different. But what gives this album an edge of
originality is also its downfall. Gomorrah perform four songs in some
37 minutes -- sufficient to put many doom bands to shame! But
Gomorrah simply don't possess or don't exhibit the technical skill to
justify their long songs. Neither do they display a sense of the
epic, nor do the songs contain sufficient variety to make their
overlong songs sound interesting. They could easily cut down the
length by more than half without losing any integral parts of the
songs. If they did that, this release would probably be more
entertaining and would have achieved a higher rating. Unedited as it
is, I cannot give this anything more than a 4. The droning guitar
doesn't exactly aid enjoyment of this album and actually brings on
boredom sooner. Although this has been released as a proper album, it
is still essentially a demo (complete with tape clicks between
songs), and potential buyers should bear this in mind. Even if it
were to be reviewed as a demo, the rating is unlikely to be higher
than 2 out of 5.
Contact: UHR, Mark Vignati, 260 Overlook Dr, Covington, GA 30016, USA
mailto:uhr@mindspring.com
Gortician - _Metal Up Your Cunt: Live in Gorechrist's Living Room_
by: Quentin Kalis (4 out of 10) (Unsung Heroes Records, June 2001)
The title is perfectly accurate: this was recorded in someone's
living room. As implied by the title, the production isn't all that
great, but the level of production isn't a major concern. The album
consists of some originals, a couple of covers of metal classics
(Slayer, Black Sabbath, Venom) and several medleys. As can be
expected, the songs are loosely played. But this is nothing more than
a minor irritation -- my major gripe is the unnecessary interruptions
such as a ringing telephone, the band talking to each other for
excessive periods of time, and general messing about. This is little
more than a band rehearsal -- why was it judged necessary to release
it? Some of the songs might be worthwhile on a proper studio album,
but not as they appear here. Medleys work bets in a live situation
before an audience, and not anywhere else. Considering the above, it
is hard to see this release as anything more than a bad rehearsal put
to CD. I have no doubt that the band are enjoying themselves and the
entire album is imbued with a sense of impetuousness (such as the
cover of "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath" morphing into "Children of the
Grave") and whilst such an attitude can be infectious, this alone is
insufficient to produce a good album. Strictly for die-hard fans.
Contact: UHR, Mark Vignati, 260 Overlook Dr, Covington, GA 30016, USA
mailto:uhr@mindspring.com
Houwitser - _Rage Inside the Womb_ (Osmose Productions, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis (5 out of 10)
Houwitser contain no less than one ex and two current members of
Sinister. Considering that 60% of its members have played in Sinister
at one time or another, it comes as no surprise to hear that
Houwitser perform aggressive death metal with an old school touch.
What may come as more of a surprise is that despite Houwitser's
pedigree this is easily one of the more boring death metal releases
that I have had to endure recently. The musicianship is more than
adequate, the music sufficiently violent, no major problems with
production -- but the songwriting is sadly lacking and Houwitser are
simply unable to produce the goods. It takes more then sheer
brutality and heaviness to ensure a decent song; all the songs are
similar and hard to distinguish from each other. They may worry about
comparisons with Sinister, but escaping Sinister's shadow is not
Houwitser's biggest problem -- what should concern them is their
absolute lack of individual identity, which makes it virtually
impossible to distinguish Houwitser from the multitude of bands
peddling second-rate death metal. Simply beginning each song with
some gruesome sounding sample is insufficient for this task. I
cannot, in all honesty, give this album anything more than 5 out of
10 -- an average mark for an average album.
Hypokras - _Dead & Hungry_ (Warpath Records, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10)
Packed in less than half an hour of music, this Hypokras release
is quite a rush of hyperblast death metal. Hypokras win their
battle thanks to their very dynamic and powerful rhythmic backbone
-- percussive guitar riffs and talented drummer included. This
combination is then joined by a vocalist who manages to sound
powerful while avoiding excessive monotony in his delivery -- Lord
Worm he certainly is not, but his vocals are slightly more varied
than average for a death metal vocalist. Aided by the strong
production, the music is relentlessly aggressive and enjoyable
throughout in a very "metal" kind of way, akin perhaps to The Crown,
though not quite as brilliant and certainly different style-wise. The
band is technically proficient, although the music itself is not
technically-minded, and do not limit themselves too much to one
particular kind of delivery. Don't get me wrong, this -is- mostly
hyperblast death metal, but slower passages and varied types of
blasting are employed to keep the music interesting. Whilst it is
unlikely that you will find anything on _Dead & Hungry_ that will
actually surprise you, I find it more than likely that any death
metal fan will thoroughly enjoy this action-packed album from these
French aggressors.
Contact: http://www.warpathrecords.com
Immortal - _Sons of Northern Darkness_
by: Paul Schwarz (10 out of 10) (Nuclear Blast, February 2002)
The number of times I've spun _SoND_ since receiving it three months
ago must quickly be approaching a hundred: that should give you some
idea (if the points rating above hadn't already) of just how
thoroughly excellent Immortal's seventh full-length album is. _SoND_
is a grower; it will provoke a whole range of feelings in listeners
new or old before either fully appreciates what a titanic prospect
Immortal have become -- but if you peel off the frozen layers
of their snow-covered sound, you'll find that inside Immortal's
collective chest, a heart of steel proudly beats away. Combining an
incredible talent for effectively harnessing dynamics with a superb
grasp of how to utilise melody subtly but to great effect, Immortal
deliver blow after deadly blow of bludgeoningly brilliant music with
the kind of maximal combination of precision and passion that is
rarely seen -- and, when encountered, rightly savoured. Immortal have
become the embodiment of the fury and the fire of black metal
channeled through a songwriting approach which harks back to more
than the rough and ready beginnings of the style's core influences --
bands like Bathory and Celtic Frost, who always wrote -songs- in some
sense, but whose more unusual divergences black metal has not always
caught on to. This is not to suggest that Immortal have become or
are becoming avant-garde, for they are certainly not. Someone,
probably Abbath -- he is deemed primary songwriter now -- has
evidently absorbed a fair amount of mid-'70s prog over the years
-- the top-class instrumental beginning of "Antarctica" (where
crucial sections are underlined by rich acoustic guitar and keyboard
harmonies) is even reminiscent of the "Overture" section of Rush's
mammoth "2112". But even here, Immortal haven't gone the whole hog.
They're not screwing seriously with timings or even experimenting
rampantly. If _SoND_ reveals anything definitive about Immortal, it's
that at the heart of their winter is a lump of -solid-, -heavy-,
-metal- -- and one so cold that anything touching it will have to
struggle to tear itself away. Most of Immortal's development of their
signature sound -- for in my opinion, Immortal -are- individuated
enough to be said to have "their own sound" -- has been inspired from
within metal itself. Inspiration has been taken from a broader base
than the one which originally inspired Norwegian black metal. Of
course, Immortal aren't the first band -- from the genre or the
country -- to have successfully broadened their horizons, but for
my money they have become the first black metal band to have
comprehensively transformed the essence of the '90s, Norwegian-born
sound into a truly, -traditionally- classic form: _SoND_ is a true
classic of a metal album. With aggression spawned in the '80s and
amped by the '90s, Immortal have made one of -those- records:
an album so metal and so good, that considerations of context,
progression, originality and style fade away, and only pure, exultant
enjoyment is left.
[Alvin Wee: "If _AtHoW_ showcased Immortal's sweeping new sound,
_Sons of Northern Darkness_ is the near-perfect culmination of the
band's grandiose vision. Mighty and monumental in scope, the
atmosphere and power on this album is unparalleled in recent times.
Certainly a major contender for album of the year."]
[Pedro Azevedo: "_Sons of Northern Darkness_ could well be the album
that marks Immortal's coming of age. Not that I regard their past
efforts as puerile, but on _SoND_ the band is able to show all the
confidence required to pace themselves instead of rushing into
things, therefore delivering their music with a remarkable mix of
might and maturity. Their particular style of epic black metal comes
across as both refined and frostily evocative on _SoND_, moreso
than ever before. This turns this album into the culmination of
Immortal's career so far and one that everyone who enjoys extreme
metal should at least give a chance. Now I can almost forgive them
for their silly band photos..."]
Impedigon - _As Desires Fade..._ (The LSP Company, March 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (6.5 out of 10)
So, "Kreators of melodic aggression", eh? A bit cheeky, are we? Well,
as far as I can hear, these Belgians actually harvest most of
their influences from the Swedish melodic death metal scene, more
specifically the Gothenburg style. That's a style I'm undeniably fond
of, and Impedigon are clearly competent at what they do. (And they
got Dark Tranquillity's Niklas Sundin to create their cover art: nice
touch.) However, the one thing that hampers the album besides its
obvious lack of originality is the mediocre production. And have I
already mentioned the lack of originality? Impedigon aren't any
better or worse than a number of Swedish bands, and with so little
help from the production department it won't be easy to convince
listeners of their worth. Nonetheless, they are indeed a competent
bunch at playing melodic death the Swedish way: nice leads and riffs,
the expectable vocals, and some easily enjoyable music as a result.
The album tends to get a bit better towards the end, but much like
their compatriots and labelmates Axamenta [reviewed above], what
Impedigon have created is a decent release that will appeal only to
dedicated fans of the genre. Nevertheless, better production and more
individuality could well mean a rather interesting record from
Impedigon next time around.
Contact: http://www.lsp-company.com
In Peccatum - _Antilia_ (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7.5 out of 10)
An 18 minute EP of laid-back, melodic doom metal with a hint
of mid-era Paradise Lost and classical touches, _Antilia_ is
a remarkably polished independent release. The carefully placed
classical passages, the well thought-out guitar parts and competent
production all prove that a lot of work has gone into the making of
this disc, in which the band manages to capture some rather good
emotional passages. There is some variety in the mostly mid-paced
music, with clean spoken vocals mixing with harsher as well as some
feminine ones, and some atmospheric and/or classical interludes
that include anything from piano to string instruments. The music
certainly isn't overly extreme, but much like Thragedium [CoC #57] it
may well come as a very pleasant surprise for those of you who enjoy
melodic, emotional doom metal. Definitely a promising Portuguese band
coming from the Azores archipelago. They appear to have had support
from their regional government for the making of this EP, so here's
hoping that their geographical situation won't prevent them from
fulfilling their potential -- which judging by _Antilia_ seems rather
interesting.
Contact: http://www.inpeccatum.8m.com
King Diamond - _Abigail pt II: The Revenge_ (Metal Blade, 2002)
by: Alvin Wee (9 out of 10)
Reviews of the past few King Diamond albums have been boringly
predictable, and the same will no doubt go for this latest horror
chapter: the new material just doesn't stand up to _Abigail_-era
stuff, but can still blow half the current metal scene away. I'd go
further for this sequel and say that it's easily the best KD album
since _The Eye_. Past the captivating cover artwork lies the
continuation to the most favored metal concept-story ever, with
King's song-writing skills going at full tilt to produce some of his
most memorable material in recent years. No lack of the typically
twisted, spine-tingling passages here, choruses are delightfully
melodic, and King's throat appears to be in fine form after all
these years, effortlessly churning out his inimitable brand of
grotesquerie. Don't look for any memorable, sing-along classics like
"Abigail" or "Arrival": the sequel's far more theatrical style hardly
lends itself to the relative straightforwardness of the earlier
works, and relies on the potent atmosphere to carry the impressive
work forward. Veteran axeman Mike Wead makes no bones about showing
his considerable expertise and experience off, duelling remarkably
with KD mainstay Andy LaRocque in a combination that's terrifyingly
driven and blindingly beautiful by turns. All in all, an essential
album for the genre this year if there ever was one, and truly
old-school fans who pick up the amazingly beautiful vinyl edition (a
nice change from the deplorable picture discs) can snigger at the
lowly CD version.
King's Evil - _Deletion of Humanoise_ (World Chaos Prod., 2002)
by: Alvin Wee (8 out of 10)
Being the Japanese half of criminally underrated Jap-American kings
Ritual Carnage, it comes as no surprise that the Yamada brothers
churn out equally solid old-school riffage on their Asian debut. It's
difficult not to resort to the boring comparisons with Sodom,
Destruction and Kreator, but such material leaves reviewers little
choice. The band makes no pretensions to originality even in
their bio, and it's only the conviction with which this quartet
deliver the neck-breaking goods that sets them apart from the
hordes of retro-wannabes. Musicianship is stellar, with the Yamadas'
twin-guitar assault spewing out bullet-riffs and insane solos
with apparent ease, showing the band's capability of crafting
headbang-inducing slower passages, only to explode in a deliciously
brutal fury when called for. Like labelmates Terror Squad, King's
Evil are highly worthy of notice, but are in danger of slipping into
obscurity without proper overseas promotion. Overall a very pleasant
find in my mailbox, and I'm eagerly looking forward to these boys'
next slab of thrashin' mayhem.
Contact: mailto:worldkdm@syd.odn.ne.jp
Lock-Up - _Hate Breeds Suffering_ (Nuclear Blast, January 2002)
by: Paul Schwarz (8 out of 10)
_Pleasures Pave Sewers_ [CoC #46] was no bad grindcore record, but it
was -not- the continuation of Terrorizer some made it out to be --
and from a line-up featuring Nick Barker (drums; Dimmu Borgir,
ex-Cradle of Filth), Peter Tagtgren (vocals; Hypocrisy, Pain, Abyss),
Shane Embury (bass; Napalm Death), and of course Jesse Pintado
(guitar; Napalm Death, ex-Terrorizer), one would have, or -should-
have, expected something a little better. _PPS_ mired itself too
often in uninspiring repetition. It quickly stopped receiving spins
from me, and I consigned Lock-Up to the same obscure corner of my
mind as Napalm Death, at that point, resided in. Nine months later,
_Enemy of the Music Business_ stomped my doubts about the later into
the dust -- naturally casting Lock-Up in a somewhat more favourable
light. Then I heard that Tomas Lindberg (he who spat out _Slaughter
of the Soul_) had replaced Tagtgren as Lock-Up vocalist -- suddenly,
I was really excited about the prospect of a second Lock-Up album.
That _Hate Breeds Suffering_ has turned out to be one of the
best grind records in years is not surprising; but once again,
despite the quality on offer, it's Lock-Up's short-comings which
are most conspicuous. Certainly, the four-piece have succeeded in
nailing sixteen songs of rarely relenting musical violence into an
under-thirty-minute coffin -- in fact, they've even brought the
reality of Lock-Up considerably closer to its Terrorizing [sic]
origins -- but Barker, Embury, Lindberg and Pintado still have
essential maintenance work to perform before they'll make a true
classic together. _Hate Breeds Suffering_ is a damn cool blast of
grindcore, but it's oh-so-close to being a classic grindcore -album-.
Still, perhaps we don't -need- Lock-Up to go that extra mile -- if,
indeed, they are even capable of doing so. For now, I think, enjoying
_HBS_ without thoughts of the "wider picture" will be your best
option.
[Pedro Azevedo: "Tomas Lindberg replaces Peter Tagtgren on vocals,
and there they go again for another half-hour of hyperblasting grind
driven by drummer Nick Barker. The previous album, _Pleasures Pave
Sewers_, started really well but tended to lose my interest rapidly
after a few tracks. _Hate Breeds Suffering_ shares with its
predecessor a format of short tracks and similar style throughout,
but overall does come across as a more convincing effort than _PPS_,
partly thanks to Lindberg's vocals. I'm still waiting for Lock-Up to
create a record that's consistently as good as the best tracks on
these two albums, but until then _HBS_ will do nicely."]
Loits - _Ei Kahetse Midagi_ (<Independent>, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10)
In this digital age, demo tapes are becoming increasingly rare and
demo CDs the norm. _Ei Kahetse Midagi_ ("No Regrets"), however, is an
actual album that was sent to me in its tape version, which for the
time being is the only one available -- Loits hope to have it
released on CD in the future. Loits are from Estonia, but judging
by their music you would have thought they were Norwegian: old
Satyricon, Ulver and Darkthrone, among other Norwegian classics, play
an influential role in their music. In two instances at least, this
influence manifests itself a bit too obviously, as there is a couple
of riffs strongly reminiscent of Satyricon's _Nemesis Divina_ and an
atmospheric interlude that could very well have been on Ulver's
_Bergtatt_. Nonetheless, Loits' guitar-driven black metal generally
does not come across as a blatant copy of anything in particular,
despite the fact that its origins are quite obvious. Contrary to what
might be expected from such an underground release, the playing is
quite tight and the production rather good, in spite of the analog
media. _Ei Kahetse Midagi_ does have good atmospheric qualities and
plenty of interesting musical passages, in addition to the competent
production and playing, but it also tends to come across as somewhat
simplistic during its mid-paced sections. It is still an underground
release that black metal purists would be well advised to seek.
Contact: Lembetu, Sepa 11, 45201 Kadrina, Laane-Virumaa, Estonia
mailto:lembetu@hot.ee
Mactatus - _Suicide_ (Napalm Records, May 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10)
Did we really need another _Enthrone Darkness Triumphant_? A few
years ago, this record would have been a lot more noteworthy and
would have deserved a higher rating, but now it's too close to Dimmu
Borgir's five year old record for comfort. It's not that _Suicide_ is
a direct collage of riffs from _EDT_, but a very significant part of
the style and sound of Mactatus' guitar-heavy yet keyboard-driven
black metal clearly does harken back to that album. _Suicide_ is
actually a very well constructed, executed and produced album,
and the band does achieve some rather good passages and overall
consistency. It's just a shame that the band did not strive for
individuality at all with this release, instead appearing content to
sound like some other band's twin. Not "some other" band, actually,
but rather a band who happens to be doing very well indeed in terms
of commercial success these days. This all probably sounds rather
harsh, but nevertheless, considering this is such a competent and
undeniably enjoyable record, I will still strongly recommend it to
anyone who is into _EDT_ era Dimmu Borgir and doesn't give a toss
about originality.
Manowar - _Warriors of the World_ (Nuclear Blast, 2002)
by: Matthias Noll (3 out of 10)
Mullet-metal for people who confuse Pavarotti and friends with
classical music, kitsch of the highest degree with epic songwriting
and deepest emotions. Old glass-eye and his male pleasure slaves
needed six years to pen two acceptable tunes -- congratulations! One
of those, "Call to Arms", rips off "Blood of my Enemies", but
can be considered good because of an ultimately catchy chorus.
The same thing -- a brilliant, catchy chorus -- applies to the
second noteworthy track, the anthemic "Warriors of the World
United". The rest is either up-tempo material, once again ripping
off their previous work, or shitloads of more-cheese-than-ever
ballad/march/opera-for-mainstream-radio crap. Strangely enough, this
record seems to be receiving praise almost everywhere. "Warrior
metal" and "epic" is what I read -- holy shit! Listen to this
alongside "Gates of Valhalla", "Strength of Steel", "Guyana", "Cult
of the Damned" or "Bridge of Death" and have a laugh at the weakness
and sweetness of these Kings of Metal. "Battle Hymn", one of the best
metal tracks ever written, was metal meets Ennio Morricone; this is
Julio Iglesias meets Spinal Tap.
Megiddo / Rampage - _Apocalyptic Raids: A Tribute to Hellhammer_
by: Quentin Kalis (7 out of 10) (Unsung Heroes Records, July 2001)
Whilst I'm not the world's biggest admirer of tribute albums, Megiddo
and Rampages' "split tribute" to Hellhammer made me sit up and take
notice. This tribute features the above-mentioned bands covering
Hellhammer's classic _Apocalyptic Raids_ album in its entirety, with
Megiddo handling the odd-numbered songs and Rampage performing
the even-numbered ones. Generally speaking, the covers are pretty
straightforward with few surprises. Rampage sounds like, well,
Rampage, who injects his covers with a raw, slightly retro sound,
whilst Megiddo is a straightforward, "true" black metal band. The
production on Megiddo's songs is inferior in comparison to Rampage's
covers, but then again, since Megiddo is a black metal act, the
inferior production does suit the genre, so there's no doubt that
there will be those that appreciate Megiddo's primitive rawness.
However, Rampage's previous flirtations with doom metal suggest that
he could have done a better job with the painfully slow "Triumph of
Death" than Megiddo. For some inexplicable reason, the beginning of
Rampage's version of "Horus / Aggressor" is Mayhem's "Silvester
Anfang". I'm a bit confused as to why a Mayhem cover would be on a
Hellhammer tribute (the only connection I can think is that both
Mayhem and Hellhammer are classic and influential bands), but it
nevertheless serves as an interesting -- if somewhat unexpected --
intro. An interesting experiment that demands greater attention than
the average tribute album.
Contact: UHR, Mark Vignati, 260 Overlook Dr, Covington, GA 30016, USA
mailto:uhr@mindspring.com
Mirror of Deception - _Mirrorsoil_ (The Miskatonic Foundation, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (6.5 out of 10)
Some serious doom metal faithful to the old ways is what these
Germans have to offer. I am not much of a fan of that genre, but as I
heard the first riff and sorrowful lead of opener "Asylum", I was
immediately interested. The clean vocal style was predictable, and
with time it does sound appropriate for the music. The production,
however, is a strange affair. It is strong and heavy, but not very
clear and really fails when it comes to the drum's treble sound.
Still, it doesn't entirely ruin the album, as Mirror of Deception
prove to be very adept at this Candlemass-derived style. Then again,
the band was apparently formed more than ten years ago, even though
they have only an EP and a full-length album to their name
besides this new full-length. Personally, I would have expected
something more remarkable from such an experienced band, but this is
nonetheless a very competent and honest-sounding disc that will
please the old-style doom metal aficionados even if the production
could have been a lot better.
Contact: http://www.mirrorofdeception.com
My Dying Bride - _For Darkest Eyes_ DVD (9.5 out of 10)
Anathema - _A Vision of a Dying Embrace_ DVD (9 out of 10)
by: Pedro Azevedo (Peaceville, May 2002)
These are re-releases of the original VHS tapes that originally came
out in 1997. The My Dying Bride DVD features a few extra features,
whilst the Anathema contains nothing new. As a result of this and the
fact that the original MDB video already contained more material than
the Anathema, the MDB DVD has more than twice the total length of the
Anathema. Anathema's _A Vision of a Dying Embrace_ features four
promotional videos ("Sweet Tears", "Mine Is Yours to Drown In", "The
Silent Enigma" and "Hope"), whilst My Dying Bride's _For Darkest
Eyes_ contains six of them ("Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium",
"The Thrash of Naked Limbs", "The Songless Bird", "I Am the Bloody
Earth", "The Cry of Mankind" and "For You"). It goes without saying
that the older videos are rather more amateurish than the more recent
ones, but their presence is nonetheless well justified. The main
section of both DVDs is comprised of each band's respective live
performance in Krakow, in March 1996, a show that was professionally
recorded in terms of video and audio. The camera work is very good,
and on DVD you get a great audio experience as well. (For some
reason, however, the MDB DVD comes with Dolby Surround 5.1, whilst
the Anathema is just Dolby Stereo 2.0.) My Dying Bride were
headliners on that gig, hence you get to hear more of them than
Anathema. The Anathema track listing included a selection of tracks
from their classic _The Silent Enigma_, plus a couple from the
_Pentecost III_ EP and a re-working of "Sleepless" from their equally
classic debut _Serenades_. My Dying Bride's set was based on _The
Angel and the Dark River_ and _Turn Loose the Swans_, an era which
many believe to have been their finest. This means you get to see
Martin Powell on violin and keyboard playing live with MDB, as well
as original drummer Rick Myah and guitarist Calvin Robertshaw. Both
of their live performances are excellent, although one does need to
keep in mind that both bands were a lot younger back then. Having
seen them live since, I can appreciate that but it doesn't hamper my
enjoyment of these DVDs. This is also partly because both bands were
captured at a very good stage in their careers, although one might
argue that Anathema were still going through a transition with Darren
White leaving the band. In fact, had this been a longer gig following
_Eternity_ -- featuring the songs off _The Silent Enigma_ that we can
find here plus a good selection from _Eternity_ -- it would have been
the equal of My Dying Bride's set. The My Dying Bride DVD also
include a relatively lo-fi 1993 gig in Holland and a 1992 performance
of "Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium", as well as the band's
1995 Dynamo appearance and a photo gallery. Overall, these are two
superb DVDs for the music they contain, although flawed in the sense
that the Anathema is rather brief and both could have had more
enticing extras. As a result, it may be a rather frustrating purchase
for those who paid for the VHS editions a few years ago. But the
quality and commodity of DVD is far superior to that of VHS, and the
contents are well worth it.
My Dying Bride - _The Voice of the Wretched_ (Peaceville, May 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (10 out of 10)
Nearly 75 minutes of live My Dying Bride, recorded between _The Light
at the End of the World_ [CoC #44] and _The Dreadful Hours_ [CoC
#55], is what _The Voice of the Wretched_ has to offer. No fluff, no
silly dialogues with the crowd, no filler material: just pure My
Dying Bride. Powerful live sound, an excellent choice of songs that
embrace the entire spectrum of My Dying Bride's lengthy existence,
and a practically flawless performance by the band complete this
black bouquet of wretchedness. Classic studio tracks seem to expand
in weight and majesty live, as the band perfects every riff and break
and Aaron's vocals grow exponentially in terms of demonic, guttural
power whilst becoming more confident than ever in terms of melodic,
heartbroken melody. The track listing: "She Is the Dark" (_The Light
at the End of the World_), the title track from _Turn Loose the
Swans_, "The Cry of Mankind" (_The Angel and the Dark River_), "The
Snow in my Hand" (_TLtS_), "A Cruel Taste of Winter" (first live
performance of the track from _The Dreadful Hours_), "Under Your
Wings and Into Your Arms" (_34.788%... Complete_), "A Kiss to
Remember" (_Like Gods of the Sun_), "Your River" (_TLtS_), "The Fever
Sea" (_TLatEotW_) and the first track MDB ever wrote, "Symphonaire
Infernus et Spera Empyrium", which represents both the EP of the same
title and its continuation, _As the Flower Withers_. For those who
know and appreciate the quality of MDB's music, this is an essential
purchase. Those yet unfamiliar with the band, consider this: what you
will find here ranges from brutal outbursts of death metal to
sorrowful and melodic passages, and I am yet to find a band capable
of reaching the level of doom metal excellence My Dying Bride
consistently showcase in their music. 10 out of 10, obviously.
[David Rocher: "Beholding My Dying Bride live, as I did in 1995, is
an experience indeed -- Aaron's incredible vocals and charismatic
presence mesh flawlessly with the touchingly forlorn melodies and
the majestic, powerful rhythmic assaults which My Dying Bride have,
in time, learned to play so impeccably. The most striking point
about My Dying Bride's first live recording, well over a decade into
their career, is the beautiful finesse with which it recaptures the
textures, emotions and subdued intensity of their unique songwriting
-- from the distorted death metal influences apparent at the time of
the band's inception ("Your River", "Symphonaire Infernus et Spera
Empyrium"), to the more resolutely avant-garde tones of _Turn
Loose the Swans_ (the inevitable "Turn Loose the Swans", "The
Snow in My Hand"), right over to the sheer beauty of their
mid-nineties meisterwerks (the magnificent "The Cry of Mankind" and
"A Kiss to Remember") and their harsher latest works ("She Is the
Dark", "The Fever Sea", "A Cruel Taste of Winter"). Although
former violinist Martin's presence is direly missed, Yasmin's
ivory-tickling skills grace this fantastic recording with the
beautiful, typical atmospheres these wretched Britons have always
been renowned for; in fact, in my humble opinion, this impeccable
live capture of the Bride's enchantment only falls short of
perfection owing to two anthems whose presence is cruelly missed --
the monumental "A Sea to Suffer In" and the classic "The Forever
People". Not only does _The Voice of the Wretched_ easily fill the
previously vacant space left by a live recording to be in My Dying
Bride's discography, it also reveals itself to be a totally
indispensable item in any melancholic, atmospheric doom/death lovers
CD collection."]
Mystic Forest - _Welcome Back in the Forest_
by: David Rocher (3 out of 10) (Oaken Shield / Adipocere, Nov. 2001)
Mystic Forest's second release is the archetype of a "progressive"
black metal release that, despite being touched by the grace of a
very technical and swift (and alas rather uninspired) guitarist,
has over and above anything else been paid a grim visit by
a very angered and pissed off fuck-up fairy. _Welcome Back in
the Forest_ indeed features quite impressive guitar leads and
more-intricate-than-average drum machine programming, but also some
of the most direly unoriginal song structures and excruciatingly
boring riffs I've ever heard -- and, first and foremost, a
dramatically dissonant, saturated and, put quite bluntly, downright
gruesome sound. I've heard countless black metal releases with a
rather disputable production (and that's euphemistic indeed), but
Mystic Forest have blended something into their mix that makes this
release sound as though your CD player has suddenly set itself to
"stun" and is currently busy settling a heated argument with your
amplifier. Indeed, whilst on the slower, more gothic influenced
segues, the cymbals just sound like an irritating, over-saturated
cacophony that more or less ruins the music, the blasting onslaughts
are nothing but rampaging binary mauling sessions featuring an
overwhelmingly loud percussive mess, thus leaving nothing but the
occasional squeaky guitar note to graze the surface of your tympanum.
The other bleak note to this sad tale is that despite their
undisputable technical proficiency, Mystic Forest's guitarist and
keyboard player obviously don't have much to say when it comes to
writing an ear-catching song; this alone would have made _Welcome
Back in the Forest_ dull and ultimately rather uninspiring, but when
added to the horrible production on this release, this failure to
recapture the genial inspiration of their classical masters (Chopin
and Beethoven being very modestly quoted as sources of inspiration)
shall merely inspire even the most enduring of black metal fans to
reach for comparatively some sweet-sounding Darkthrone.
Necrosphere - _Revived_ (Diehard Music, February 2002)
by: David Rocher (6 out of 10)
Formerly known under the monicker Cenotaph, these four Italian
deathsters have now been roaming the underground extreme scene for
a full decade, alas earning themselves no more than lukewarm
recognition -- and it is unlikely that the grinding slab of raging
death metal titled _Revived_ will do anything to alter this status
quo. Indeed, despite being a sincere and reasonably enjoyable
self-claimed "old school death metal" release, _Revived_ simply fails
to display any real inspirational genius; much as Necrosphere are
truly impressive musicians (in particular, the drumming antics
with which _Revived_ oozes fall nothing short of heroic), their
songwriting skills are merely decent, and, applied to this Italian
four-piece, the denomination "old school" soon turns out to be little
more than an embarrassed-sounding synonym for "very unoriginal" and
"somewhat deja-vu". Akin to their blasting rendition of Slayer's
classic "Necrophiliac", Necrosphere are pleasant, technical and
actually quite ear-catching, but nothing more than that -- and, in a
hopelessly saturated scene such as today's extreme metal universum,
this failure to display any form of genuine brilliance can only turn
out to be Necrosphere's worst enemy -- despite this band's totally
metal sincerity --, not to mention their one-way pass to a prolonged
stay in shadowed anonymity.
Nehemah - _Light of a Dead Star_
by: David Rocher (8 out of 10) (Oaken Shield / Adipocere, Jan. 2002)
It has now been nearly a decade since the black metal project
Nehemah, fronted by mastermind and bassist/vocalist Corven, appeared
amidst the evil shadows of the French black metal scene. Fusing in
soul and mind with the essence of underground musical extremism,
Nehemah recorded only one very limited demo, back in 1996, prior to
the release of this first full-length on the French label Oaken
Shield in 2001. Norwegian black metal is undoubtedly Nehemah's
greatest influence, as _Light of a Dead Star_ revels in saturated,
unhallowed musical realms bearing the stigma of holy Darkthrone's
meisterwerks _Under a Funeral Moon_ (for the haunting, eerily melodic
tones it displays) and _A Blaze in the Northern Sky_ (for the driving
mid-tempo power and blasting segues _LoaDS_ frequently erupts into);
slants of Mayhem's _De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas_ are also to be heard,
in particular as regards the pleasantly technical drumming and
chilling guitar lines, quite reminiscent of the late Euronymous'
works. Nehemah's strongest point nonetheless undisputedly remains
the competence and ease they display when meshing their musical
proficiency with the traditionally coarse grain of underground black
metal; although it is a proven fact that technical competence
is clearly not an key element to a good black metal album,
musical mastery such as that displayed by Nehemah's line-up
definitely adds a whole new touch to this collection of bewitching
anthems: spine-tingling ambience fuses with crushing power and
amazing dynamics as slow, chilling parts laced with synthetic-laden
atmospheres brutally erupt into blasting onslaughts or monolithic
mid-tempo drives. In addition to this, _LoaDS_ is graced with a truly
excellent production -- murky, saturated and raucous, yet very ample,
and offering each musician's performance suitable exposure, providing
this slab of unhallowed blackness with what I consider as the most
fitting kind of production for an underground black metal recording.
From the chilling beauty of the eight-minute anthem "Nehemah in Vulva
Infernum" (which contains more than a slight hint at Marduk's hymnic
"Dracul Va Domni...") to the almost death metal intensity of the
riffing on "Misty Swamps", _LoaDS_ is definitely one of the finer
samples of what raw, yet elaborate black metal has to offer these
days. Devoted souls growing tired of black metal superproductions
such as Dark Funeral's (nonetheless superb) latest opus can wisely
turn to Nehemah's first full-length for a dose of blackened harshness
and grandeur.
Nocte Obducta - _Galgendammerung, Von Nebel, Blut und Totgeburten_
by: Matthias Noll (7.5 out of 10) (Grind Syndicate Media, 2002)
Nocte Obducta is a German black metal band featuring two Agathodaimon
members. Although _Galgendammerung_ (the full title translates to
"Dawn of the Gallows. of Fog, Blood and Stillborn Children") is Nocte
Obducta's fourth album, it is also my first encounter with the band.
Their previous album _Schwarz Metall_ (literally "Black Metal") is
said to be in the primitive and raw, early Darkthrone direction, but
on _Galgendammerung_ Nocte Obducta's main strength lies in their
ability to incorporate excellent melancholic melodies into a somewhat
old-school style. Melody is indeed used brilliantly on this record,
and we're not talking about the "hey, I have this four note
kindergarten melody, let's play it on 500 bpm and we'll have a cool
black metal tune" approach which sadly applies to 80% of the current
black metal output. In addition, a good dose of blasting, constant
shrill and frostbitten shrieking and the absence of any gothic
elements and clean male or female vocals ensures that this release
might be able to please the grim black metal crowd as well. Although
the line-up includes a keyboard player, Nocte Obducta does not fall
into the overcrowded category of "symphonic" black metal. The keys
are carefully integrated into the overall sound and add additional
melodic textures here and there without ever becoming cheesy or
dominant. In all nine songs, which range from 3:40 to a length of
over 10 minutes, _Nocte Obducta_ use the full range of possible tempi
and moods -- from slow atmospheric sections, to mid-tempo, and on to
frequent blasting. Breaks are generally well incorporated, different
sections seamlessly blending into each other, and even the longest
tracks remain focussed and interesting at the same time. Technically
this band is quite OK, but certainly leagues away from the Emperors
of this world. A positive effect of this is the absence of any
technical gimmickry which might detract from the quality of the
tunes. The production on _Galgendammerung_ is a bit weak and trebly
without sounding truly necro or grim. Fortunately, the overall
quality does not really suffer from this; I can strongly recommend
_Galgendammerung_, and not only to black metal purists.
Obtest - _Auka Seniems Dievams_ (Ledo Takas Records, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7.5 out of 10)
I do receive plenty of underground releases in my mailbox every
month, yet only a few of those qualify as real oddities. Obtest --
from Lithuania, of all places -- are one such oddity; not because
their music is amazingly inventive and avantgarde, but because they
are one of those bands that come from an unusual country and -sound-
like it. What Obtest play is a form of blackened warlike metal, which
they imbue with a strong folk feel -- in the same sense as a
Scandinavian band, like Enslaved, might sound Viking. This is what
makes Obtest sound different from the norm, as they sing in their
native language and the war chants come across as rather distinctive.
The band does have a penchant for some very memorable songwriting,
which they display best on the album's opening couple of tracks ("Is
Sirdies" and "Anapus Nemuno", if you want to know) and on "Priesa
Parklupdyk". A few of the other tracks suffer from not being so
memorable and simultaneously not too different from the rest of the
album, but quality nonetheless remains reasonably consistent. The
band are quite adept at their craft, and the production -- although
somewhat odd -- works sufficiently well. _Auka Seniems Dievams_ is
a disc that entirely deserves to be sought by those with a
craving for a touch of the unusual in their music, especially if
Viking-influenced Scandinavian bands are your thing.
Contact: mailto:ledo@banga.lt
On Thorns I Lay - _Angel Dust_ (Black Lotus, December 2001)
by: David Rocher (5.5 out of 10)
After four releases on the French label Holy Records, On Thorns I Lay
have apparently felt the urge to review and streamline their musical
course; thus, gone are the label and the "atmospheric gothic metal"
tones of yore, as On Thorns I Lay have now signed to Black
Lotus, and released a far less ornate, much simpler fifth landmark
in their career. Much as their former works were reminiscent
of _Aegis_-day Theatre of Tragedy laced with _Alternative 4_-era
Anathema, _Angel Dust_ thrives on post-_Discouraged Ones_ Katatonia
and more recent Theatre of Tragedy -- finely etched, cleverly
laid-out and competently played gothic metal. However, much as this
may sound enticing, there is one major flaw on On Thorns I Lay's
latest release: it's quite simply frightfully boring. With the
exception of one or two tracks (in particular, the beautifully moody
title track), _Angel Dust_ sounds like a "Listener's Digest" of all
that has occurred in the vast gothic metal scene over these past few
years -- it's not that _Angel Dust_ is bad, far from it, but it's
just not good enough to appear as anything but a fleck on the works
of the bands that have obviously moved and influenced On Thorns I Lay
to create an album such as _Angel Dust_.
Ordeal - _Ma|an_ (2002)
Sola Translatio - _Ad Infinitum_ (2002)
Svartsinn - _Devouring Consciousness_ (2001)
by: Quentin Kalis (8, 8 and 8.5 out of 10) (Eibon Records)
The above three artists are acts signed to Italian label
Eibon Records, all exploring similarly minimalist, dark ambient
soundscapes. Whilst all bands make strong use of minimalist
instrumentation, Svartsinn's use of the concept makes the other two
CDs sound terribly cluttered. Their bleak, uncompromising sound is
only occasionally interrupted by a brief emergence of neo-classical
strings or a piano tinkling mournfully in the background. The
very emptiness of their music creates a bleak, extremely desolate
atmosphere. This album may very well be the aural equivalent of a
desert -- a seemingly empty, uninviting place, yet closer inspection
reveals a whole new world denied to the casual observer or listener.
Continuing my comparison with nature, at times throbbing sound
emerges, like the heartbeat of some great beast, providing a slightly
more organic feel to an otherwise extremely cold and impersonal
album.
Sola Translatio make use of percussion and samples of organic
sounds to provide a more human feel to what would otherwise be an
extremely cold and impersonal album. They apparently do not believe
in brevity in song writing, as evidenced by the fact that each of
their songs averages over twelve minutes. Sola Translatio creates the
distinct impression that they would have been perfectly happy to
release _Ad Infinitum_ as an album with a single song and that
releasing _AI_ as an album with five tracks is merely lip service to
conformity and a concession to the listener. Sola Translatio's songs
are largely amorphous, directionless meanderings, but to see this as
a negative aspect would be to misunderstand the point of the album.
Ordeal's release encompasses the most variety, with each song
immediately distinguishable from the others, yet at the same time
(paradoxically) monotonous. Ordeal succeed in generating a deceptive
sense of great simplicity and seeming effortlessness. _Ma|an_, like
the other two, is best listened to at night in a darkened room, with
a perhaps a candle or two burning. Or you could have it playing as
background music, as something to listen to whilst engaged in some
other activity. You might not even be aware that it's playing, as
this is the kind of music that you might not even notice playing. But
what would be the point? It's not easy to recommend one album over
the other, as they are all of a similarly high standard, and whilst
they do sound similar, each contains elements not found on the other
two and the importance of these elements depends on what you sound
you wish to hear. However, yours truly has, by an exceedingly slim
margin, picked Svartsinn as the best of the lot. This is a
choice based on the extreme emptiness and sadness of _Devouring
Consciousness_. But basically, if you like one album then you'll like
them all. These albums won't be to everyone's taste, but for
those who are open-minded enough to appreciate it, they are well
recommended.
Contact: http://www.eibonrecords.com
Pain Control - _Subvert_ (Demolition Records, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (6 out of 10)
An old-style thrash metal band at heart in terms of guitar work and
vocals, Pain Control sound like they are trying really hard to
modernize that sound and come across as really varied and innovative.
In fact, at times they sound like they are trying -too- hard to
achieve that. Still, Pain Control certainly manage to put together
some good thrashing moments, mostly reminding me of a more aggressive
but less talented (especially in terms of songwriting) version of
Nevermore -- which, given Nevermore's impressive quality, does not
necessarily doom Pain Control, who are quite capable of creating some
entertaining music within their specific genre. Midway through the
album and again near the end, however, the band goes into piano and
clean male and female vocals mode. It's not that I cannot appreciate
these elements when used in the right context, but in this case the
whole thing seems rather odd, and then the mediocre couple of
tracks that close the album pull my rating down somewhat. Adequate
production and technical qualities complete the picture; overall,
_Subvert_ clearly cannot compete against the likes of Nevermore, but
its more aggressive edge may be a good reason for you to look into
this competent album.
Poema Arcanus - _Iconoclast_ (Aftermath Music, 2002)
by: Alvin Wee (9 out of 10)
While tags like "progressive dark arcane metal" usually refers to a
band's distinct lack of character and definition, this underrated
Chilean bunch certainly live up to promises, delivering a whopping
dark metal surprise from a genre that's been milked to death by
naive goth-metal upstarts. With their brand of dark/doom/goth metal
reminiscent of the now-defunct Finns Absent Silence, Poema Arcanus
weave an entrancing web of progressive arrangements and soaring
melody, beautifully dark and captivating while retaining the heavy
edge that so many of the newer "dark metal" bands lack. Claudio
Carrasco's bewitchingly masculine croon adds the crucial edge to
the already stellar musicianship, and carries the entire album
marvelously well without the addition of the typical female yodeling.
Alternating dense passages with sparse acoustic segments creates an
enveloping chiaroscuro that's almost palpable; the band's skillful
interplay of light and dark stands out as perhaps the album's
defining characteristic, and sets it apart from the countless other
single-faceting albums on the shelf. With the right promotion, the
band's ear for melody and talent for arrangement should set them on
the same level as kings like Katatonia and _Wolfheart_-era Moonspell.
This is a release that no fan of dark and atmospheric music should
miss, and is certainly Aftermath's best release to date.
Rain - _Starlight Extinction_ (Adipocere Records, November 2001)
by: David Rocher (6.5 out of 10)
Face it: it's hard to avoid hasty comparisons when approaching
a Helvetic quartet playing electronic, atmospheric, mid-paced
techno-enhanced metal -- and indeed, this comparison with atmospheric
experimental masters Samael turns out to be Rain's addictive sting
and curse also. Their sting, because these Swisses are proficient
enough in their ways to skillfully impose their personal brand of
electronic experimentation fused with low-cased metallic power; their
curse, because whichever way you turn when listening to _Starlight
Extinction_, the ineffable shadow of post-_Passage_ era Samael looms
ever nearer -- somehow, I have a hard time deciding whether I should
congratulate Rain for daring to tread in the experimental musical
tracks of their masters, or whether I should sneer at them exactly
for that same reason. In fact, the sheer deserving professionalism
with which Rain go about their music -- whether on CD or live, as I
have had the pleasure to behold -- pulls it off with little
difficulty, leaving one to enjoy the intriguing power encased within
this third release of theirs. After several careful and rather less
biased further listens, the main weakness in Rain's songwriting in
fact reveals itself to be the lack of dynamics their music suffers
from; many a track gradually builds up a powerful aftermath, a raging
crescendo towards a musical storm... but the much-awaited maelstrom
in fact scarcely ever seems to come. This is probably imputable to
the more ethereal, distinctive techno slant Rain grace their material
with, an orientation which is rather stronger in these ways than
Samael's. Altogether, however, even though _Starlight Extinction_
doesn't score a direct hit on me, its carefully calculated musical
approach, generally interesting songwriting, huge sound, ample and
spaced-out tones make it a truly commendable listen for the more
open-minded fringe of metalheads out there.
Rain Fell Within - _Refuge_ (Dark Symphonies, February 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7.5 out of 10)
No time is wasted as _Refuge_ begins with the full instrumental and
vocal setup readily in action, and after one minute the first catchy
melodies are already entering your ears -- and a nice operatic
melodic metal opening it is. Talented vocals and keyboards lead the
guitar work and the (also rather good) drumming along, which
wasn't necessarily the case on their debut _Believe_ -- overall,
_Refuge_ tends to sound somewhat softer than its predecessor. These
differences do not make the music itself any worse -- it certainly
sounds more polished than before --, but they do drag Rain Fell
Within a bit closer to the hordes of bands inhabiting this female-led
gothic metal genre. Rain Fell Within are indeed very good at what
they do, but after hearing their debut I expected them to offer
something a bit more unique this time, which is the one aspect where
they failed. _Refuge_ is a good disc, musically more involved than
its predecessor, and it will please fans of the genre, but it does
lack novelty and stand-out qualities in a very crowded genre.
Nevertheless, if what you happen to be looking for is just what I
described above, then Rain Fell Within are a very safe bet indeed, as
all the band members are clearly talented and _Refuge_ is a solid,
pleasant album throughout.
Contact: http://www.darksymphonies.com
Rebellion - _Shakespeare's Macbeth: A Tragedy in Steel_
by: David Rocher (1 out of 10) (Drakkar / XIII Bis, April 2002)
Concept albums such as these can be a worthy way of paying humble
tribute to the genius of a literary or philosophical milestone
crafted in times past; however, the cheesy power metal dirge in which
ex-Grave Digger axemen Uwe Luwis and Toni Gottlich have indulged with
the assistance of Annihilator's Randy Black does little more than
defile the memory of Shakespeare's ineffable tragedy. Loaded to the
brim with bad power metal riffage, omnipresent double bass drumming
and a tediously screeching vocalist "hail, hail, hail"-ing away at
anything that moves or breathes, this musical rendition of the
much-revered Scottish play is but a chunk of splendorous metallic
cheesiness -- with a killer production, however, and a ludicrously
comic booklet filled with heroic representations of gloriously
top-heavy naiads and outrageously muscular warriors with flowing
hair. Damned be I for first crying "Hold, enough!", but this
outrageous release falls way beyond the limits of musical tolerance,
and the only point it scores is for the pleasant way it has humoured
me by giving me something to tear to pieces in a review.
Regorge - _Kingdoms of Derision_ (Dead Again Records, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis (7.5 out of 10)
_KoD_ is the debut from the Scottish brutal death metal band Regorge.
For a debut, it's not bad; the production is more than acceptable,
the music sufficiently technical, and each track is immediately
identifiable as a Regorge track. Unusually for an album of this
genre, the songs are rather long: some nine songs are performed in
about 55 minutes. The length does not suit the style and the songs
would in all likelihood be more brutal and have a greeter effect on
the listener if they were compacted into four or less minutes of
all-out aggression. However, the major flaw in this release is that,
while I understand it is meant to be brutal -- and it most certainly
is --, at times the vocals are simply too incoherent. While this is
to be expected, there are too many passages in the album where it
sounds as the vocals consist merely of one continuous growl, with no
variation in pace or tone to even suggest that individual words of
any kind are being enunciated. This might appeal to the die-hard fan,
but for others it merely imbues the album with an unnecessary sense
of monotony. This is a pity, as their music is intense, well-played
and well worth a listen. Good songwriting clearly has not been
sacrificed on the altar of brutality for this release. However, none
of the aforementioned flaws are insurmountable problems, and _KoD_ is
clearly the debut of a promising band that has yet to reach their
peak.
Contact: http://www.deadagain.fsnet.co.uk
Reverend Kriss Hades - _The Wind of Orion_
by: Quentin Kalis (6 out of 10) (Decius Productions, January 2002)
The honourable Reverend from Down Under (wonder if he really is a
reverend -- in LaVey's Church of Satan perhaps?) has previously been
involved with the likes of Nazxul and Sadistik Exekution. The first
-- and best -- song is a simplistic yet highly effective black metal
track with unusual vocals, which almost sounds as if the vocalist is
choking. The subtle synths which overlay the guitar succeed in
creating a menacing atmosphere, but I'm not quite sure what to make
of the rest of the album. The next two songs are reworkings of
Sadistik Exekution songs off the _FUKK_ album: "Black Mass Murder"
(Satanic version), which retains its origins as a death metal song,
while "Final Execution" (Ouija version) is a far more drastic
reworking, drawn out into an overlong ten minute industrial. The
final three tracks are taken from the Reverend's obscure 1990
recording, _Meditation of the Midnight Candle Practice_. These three
tracks largely consist of the Reverend playing his guitar over
some industrial electronic effects. While I commend him for his
originality, originality in itself is not always sufficient to ensure
an enjoyable album, and it's a sad testament to this release that the
least adventurous song is also by far the best. The industrial
effects soon become monotonous, while the Reverend's self-indulgent
guitar playing gets somewhat tiring after an incredibly short period
of time. Considering that the Reverend is a talented guitarist, he
has substantial experience performing in other bands and is not
averse to experimentation, suggests that his next solo release will
find him settling on a style and producing a definitive album.
Contact: mailto:iconoclast101@optushome.com.au
Contact: http://www.deciusproductions.com
Runemagick - _Requiem of the Apocalypse_ (Aftermath Music, 2002)
by: Alvin Wee (8 out of 10)
Pretty much standard death metal fare, though quality is pretty much
assured coming from Nicklas "Terror" Rudolfsson of Swordmaster fame.
Typically dark and technical, with the requisite tinge of old-school
Scandinavian genius (read: old Tiamat, Unleashed), Runemagick's
fourth studio outing promises a solid and stylistically rich sojourn
into the familiar realms of death and madness. The relatively
measured pace allows more atmosphere and melody to seep through the
mix compared to the uncontrolled havoc of Krisiun and the like, which
makes for more engaging listening than the heap of faster-than-thou
releases piling up these days. Suitably crunchy riffing accentuate
the dark ambience on this disc with a hue of restrained aggression,
while the twisted leads (like on "Funeral Caravan") occasionally
blaze with a passion that's seldom encountered anywhere other than
from the most accomplished "Gothenburg" bands. The enhanced CD offers
up a handful of equally entertaining MP3s as a document of the band's
miscellaneous antics, as well as pictures, screensavers and other
computer paraphernalia, adding some magic to an already satisfying
package. Ask for the limited digibook edition.
Contact: mailto:ruholm@online.no
Satariel - _Phobos and Deimos_ (Hammerheart, January 2002)
by: David Rocher (7.5 out of 10)
After the 1998 release of Satariel's debut effort, _Lady Lust
Lilith_, on Singapore-based label Pulverized Records, a prolonged
silence from the band let it look as though this Swedish quintet
would merely be yet another of these countless one-off more or less
"interesting" acts which have washed over the Scandinavian scene in
the past few years. However, this shall not be -- 2002 witnesses
Satariel's comeback, a very convincing musical evolution cryptically
titled _Phobos and Deimos_; whereas _Lady Lust Lilith_ was a
decent, rather unsurprising death metal recording showcasing a
more extensive use of clean male vocals than your average chunk
of metallic rage, _Phobos and Deimos_ is packed to the brim
with mutating, intricate, extreme metal anthems which the musical
physicist named Devin Townsend himself might look at with certain
interest. Indeed, what these Strapping Young Swedes have crafted here
reaches far beyond any boundaries set within the metal scene,
effortlessly evolving from conventional modern Swedish death metal
segues to doom-laden heaviness, right from Townsend-tinged distorted
madness to classic heavy metal tones -- courtesy of very remarkable
vocal guest appearances by Candlemass' own Messiah Marcolin. A
striking feature about _Phobos and Deimos_ is the ease with which
it maintains congruence throughout the unexpected, powerful and
technical fifty-one minutes of seething metal it delivers; despite
their countless influences and stylistic headstarts, Satariel never
lose their lead, and the material on _Phobos and Deimos_ constantly
remains on a very high level. The downright impressive musical
mastery on Satariel's sophomore release being enhanced as it is
by sound genius Daniel Bergstrand's crisp, powerful production,
death-metallers craving for a touch of novelty in their extreme metal
can safely be advised to check this surprising, powerful and very
compelling release out, as can all who are allured by the power,
precision and originality displayed by Strapping Young Lads. A
recommended listen indeed.
Sathya - _Sathya_ (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley (7.5 out of 10)
I like the spirit of this band. Regardless of their obvious worship
of the melodic death metal a la Gothenburg, Sweden (In Flames sounds,
fast-paced guitar riffs, menacing yet melodic vocals), the band still
kicks things into gears, adjusting their melodic metal drive just a
bit to add their own character to the flow of the music. Tight and
truly effective metal offerings like "Top Gun", the dynamic rush of
"Cauldron of Sin" and "Dethroned" shine here on this ten-song
offering. And I must admit, while the production at times falters (it
just sounds a little muddy), this band could not have asked for
a better production to help enhance their vicious, as well as
slowed down, metal attacks. With the right word of mouth and some
high-profile shows under their belt, Sathya could soon be in the
spotlight of label interest. Good luck, my metal brothers.
Contact: http://www.sathyametal.com
Sentenced - _The Cold White Light_ (Century Media, May 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7.5 out of 10)
Sentenced are quite a unique band for me, their rocking riffs
an unlikely success given my musical taste. It is the band's
attitude, as shown by their trademark suicidal lyrics (often somewhat
pedestrian in their expression, yet somehow very appropriate to the
music), that has always helped that success, not to mention the fact
that they're damn good at what they do: creating unpretentiously
enjoyable music. Each of the last three Sentenced albums had two or
three stand-out tracks for me, the rest enjoyable enough except for
the odd track or two in each disc. _Down_ had its "Noose", _Frozen_
its "Dead Leaves" and "The Rain Comes Falling Down", and _Crimson_
its "Bleed in My Arms" and "Broken". Similarly, _The Cold White
Light_ has "Cross My Heart and Hope to Die" and the simple but
infectious "Excuse Me While I Kill Myself", plus a collection of very
competent tracks and the lame pseudo-romantic "You Are the One". For
those past three albums, Sentenced had been steadily growing into the
Finnish Bolt Thrower, such was their reliability in keeping whoever
liked the first disc happy with the other two -- unless the person in
question wanted significant changes in the band's sound. _The Cold
White Light_ sees Sentenced essentially continuing on the same path
they've taken since singer Ville Laihala joined the band for _Down_;
some of it is arguably more accessible than usual for the band, but
they've always had a tendency for that once in a while. _The Cold
White Light_ is overall somewhat softer and not as thoroughly rocking
as, say, _Frozen_, but it still clearly remains Sentenced. It is
a very enjoyable disc with plenty of attitude, much like its
predecessors -- although on the other hand it also suffers from its
severe lack of progression, which is reflected in my rating above.
Anyone seeking innovation and change should look elsewhere, but those
who just need more of the same old Sentenced are unlikely to be
disappointed by _The Cold White Light_ -- it isn't the best Sentenced
disc so far, but it is still quite satisfactory. And if you can, try
to grab the nice digibook version available, as the photographic
artwork is worth it.
Serpent's Kiss - _Distant Shores_ (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley (6.5 out of 10)
Even though the mark doesn't really say it, I actually found the
music of Serpent's Kiss quite enjoyable. Serpent's Kiss plays a real
cool old-school heavy metal attack a la Iron Maiden / Jag Panzer that
is full of metallic passion, from the soaring guitar riffs to the
magical / fantasy lyrical content. Where the album falters is in the
vocal delivery: the vocals sound a bit strained at times, thus
bringing the heavy metal attack down a few notches. I don't think
singer Rod has a bad voice per se, I just think some more studio work
could be beneficial to him, as the harmonies around him obviously
work -- now only if the vocals could be stronger... This album really
moves along with a solid stride and I especially like songs such as
"Strider", "Face the Slayer" and "Victory". Lots of passion here, but
the band needs just a bit more power and they'll be slaying us all.
Contact: mailto:william.philpot@ntlworld.com
Soilwork - _Natural Born Chaos_ (Nuclear Blast, March 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (5 out of 10)
Such a talented lot, Soilwork, and just look what they are turning
themselves into. They used to play Swedish death metal with a bit of
a technical twist, plus some particular choruses that were becoming a
trademark for the band. Their last disc, _A Predator's Portrait_, saw
the band focusing more on those choruses, while the overall result
was rather close to some of In Flames' latest effort _Clayman_. On _A
Predator's Portrait_ and its predecessor _The Chainheart Machine_,
Soilwork had departed from the more straightforward Swedish death
origins of their debut _Steelbath Suicide_ without compromising the
balance of aggression and catchiness. On _Natural Born Chaos_,
however, they have broken that balance. The choruses sound poppy and
more accessible than before, often catchy in a similarly irritating
way to a commercial jingle; and what used to be the more aggressive
and dynamic parts are now watered down, slower, less dynamic and more
"rocking". The lyrics are mostly uninspired, which becomes very
noticeable during the choruses, depriving the album of any emotional
qualities. The result is an album that unfortunately comes across as
bland and uninteresting in the light of what the band has done
before. Here's hoping they'll do better next time around, because
they -can-.
Solekahn - _Suffering Winds_ (Imperial Maze, January 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7.5 out of 10)
Get past the somewhat uninviting production, and you may well find
a rather interesting disc in this obscure release. This is an
eight-song EP, with a playing time of under 20 minutes -- including
atmospheric intro, interlude and outro (all brief). The songs
themselves (as you may have already guessed) are quite short,
occasionally even below the two minute mark. Solekahn play mostly
fast-paced and dynamic death metal with hints of black and thrash,
often carrying a subdued melody that may not be initially apparent
behind the intense drum barrage reminiscent of Vader. There is a dark
atmosphere surrounding their mysterious-sounding music, and the
succinctness of the songs and the EP itself works well for the band,
again much like what happens with Vader -- I found myself spinning
this disc a lot more often than I expected. Furthermore, the dynamics
are good, there is a fair degree of variety in the music (especially
on the noteworthy "In Dementia"), and the material is consistently
enjoyable throughout. Considering this is the French trio's debut
release, I will be looking forward to an eventual full-length album.
Contact: http://www.solekahn.maxximum.org
Song of Melkor et al - _New World Blasphemy_
by: Quentin Kalis (7 out of 10) (Unsung Heroes Records, 2001)
_New World Blasphemy_ is a split release between three American
black metal bands, namely Song of Melkor, Rampage and Cross
Sodomy. Interestingly, they are all one-man bands. (I blame it on
Burzum.) Rampage is reviewed elsewhere in this issue, but the
other two are largely unknown to me. Song of Melkor (not another
band named after some Tolkien gibberish!) open the album with
"Prophecy of Abyss" with a slowish song featuring a strange-sounding,
almost discordant guitar. The next four tracks venture into more
conventional black metal territory. Rampage has eschewed his previous
musical flirtations in favour of a harsher, black metal-like sound.
The first of two songs, "Black Flames Light my Path to Damnation" is
in the style of his cover of Mayhem's "Funeral Fog" off the _Monolith
to an Abandoned Past_ album, [CoC #57], while "Ritual Curse" is a
slower, more sedate song, more like his previous work. Cross
Sodomy's contribution is their demo. (Rampage and Song of Melkor's
contributions were recorded for _NWB_.) Their music is largely
unremarkable, with the notable exception of the vocals. Unlike most
black metal vocals, the words are clearly enunciated and verges on
being spoken word, at times bordering perilously close to rap. (Never
thought I would ever get the opportunity to use the terms "black
metal" and "rap" in the same sentence!) While neither of these bands
are likely to blow anyone with any displays of technical skill,
their extremely raw and simplistic nature ensures that the unholy
trio remain true to the original spirit of black metal and the
underground.
Contact: UHR, Mark Vignati, 260 Overlook Dr, Covington, GA 30016, USA
mailto:uhr@mindspring.com
The Atomic Bitchwax - _Spit Blood_ (Meteor City, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis (8.5 out of 10)
In short, The Atomic Bitchwax's _Spit Blood_ simply has to be the
most mind-blowingly brilliant release so far this year from the genre
of stoner / desert / space / whatever-you-want-to-call-it rock. TAB
are a band of contradictions, as while they are influenced by and
play in a style of music that is long gone, they are totally
innovative. The album begins with a cover of the AC/DC classic "Dirty
Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", which is also the most simplistic song on the
album, standing out a mile from any of their original material and
making one realise the complexity and layers of their music.
Nevertheless it's a credible cover and places the emphasis squarely
on the fun, rocking aspect of their music. I can foresee one
complaint bound to be brought up more than a few times: that there
are simply too many instrumentals. With three instrumentals, this is
half of the original songs. They are not fillers at all, they are
fully-fledged songs, as deserving of notice as the songs with vocals.
In fact, they are often considerably better than the songs with
vocals. As on their previous releases, which suffered from no
shortage of instrumentals, TAB demonstrate that they have sufficient
talent and skill to be able to pull it off. Ever since the demise of
Kyuss, the throne of stoner rock has been somewhat in dispute. With
the release of _Spit Blood_, their third album, TAB are well on their
way to claiming that title. And for those that possess a PC, there is
an extensive behind-the-scenes documentary.
Contact: http://www.meteorcity.com
The Crown - _Crowned in Terror_ (Metal Blade, March 2002)
by: David Rocher (9 out of 10)
Throatmangler supreme Johan Lindstrand's departure from The Crown
anno 2001 was tragic news indeed -- no less tragic in fact to me as
the announcement of At The Gates' demise consecutive to the release
of their milestone _Slaughter of the Soul_ --, but the revelation
that followed stating that ex-At The Gates vocalist Tomas Lindberg
would be stepping in to endorse vocal duties for Sweden's ultimate
death 'n' roll act was somewhat more reassuring. _Crowned in Terror_
was hence etched to be a milestone in The Crown's career; not only
was it their first release ever without Lindstrand (strikingly, the
only minor line-up change The Crown had ever undergone occurred
consecutively to the release of their 1993 demo, _Forever Heaven
Gone_), it was also assigned the uncomfortable task of providing a
worthy heir to its insane predecessor, _Deathrace King_ [CoC #49].
And unsurprisingly enough, these claims are now greeted with total
success -- The Crown have retaliated against all worries and
doubts concerning their future with an incredible, seething and
steroid-boosted death 'n' roll recording, a savage brute thriving
on roaring metallic onslaughts, blasting rhythmic poundings and
mind-boggling technicality and velocity. A little more intricate and
less "all-out metal carnage" in style than the very raw and
adrenaline-oozing _Deathrace King_, _Crowned in Terror_ delivers the
goods beyond all expectations, in pure The Crown tradition; from the
always inspired melodies and catchy rock 'n' roll hymns crafted by
Magnus Osfelt and Marko Tervonen to the inconceivable drumming
antics provided by drumgod Janne Saarenpaa, the ten tracks (plus
introduction) featured on _Crowned in Terror_ only release their
crushing grasp on your throat when their composers deem it worthy, as
on the super-heavy mid-tempo anthem "World Below". In fact, much as
I predicted and feared, the only shadow on this recording are
Tompa Lindberg's vocals -- much as his work on At the Gates'
releases was beyond words and any form criticism, his screamed
and rabid intonations fail to wholly mesh in with the grim and
thrilling musical canvas painted by his fellow band members; and
this oh-so-disappointing sentiment is only reinforced by Johan
Lindstrand's glorious performance on the closing number "Death Metal
Holocaust". Metal Blade having however recently disclosed the news
that Tomas Lindberg and The Crown have parted ways due to the
timeless "personal differences", I can only conclude the review of
this flawed, but nonetheless absolutely brilliant by a heartfelt
plea: Johan, come back -- Death Metal can't do without you!
[Pedro Azevedo: "Had this entire disc been as good as the first
couple of tracks following its mediocre intro -- "Crowned in Terror"
and "Under the Whip", and The Crown's first output with legendary
screamer Tomas Lindberg would truly have been a death metal classic.
This is not to say the rest of the album is weak; but only on a
couple other tracks does it ever get close to its initial quality
again. As usual, I tend to enjoy Marko Tervonen's songs more than
Magnus Osfelt's, even though the mixing of guitarist Tervonen's and
bassist Osfelt's slightly contrasting songwriting styles continues
to work well for the band. Still, although in their last couple of
albums Osfelt had also been doing very well indeed, this time it's
his part of the album that tended to let me down slightly.
Nevertheless, this is yet another potent release from a superb band
whose debut and last three discs are all ranked high among my death
metal favourites."]
The Ribeye Brothers - _If I Had a Horse..._ (Meteor City, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis (7.5 out of 10)
This must surely rank as one of the few CDs, if not the not the only
CD reviewed within these virtual pages to feature the use of a banjo!
The Ribeye Brothers are a duo consisting of Monster Magnet drummer
Jon Kleiman and Monster Magnet alumnus Tim Cronin. Contrary to
expectation, this is not some sort of stoned, psychedelic space rock,
but rather an exploration of musical horizons which wouldn't have
been possible under the aegis of Monster Magnet. Said musical
horizons are a Cramps-sounding thugabilly style. Of course no Monster
Magnet side-project would be complete without a strong dosage of some
retro element; this element is provided here in the form of the early
synth sounds of a moog, evoking the likes of '70s icons The Doors.
Lyrically, a large number of songs concern drinking, while others
seemingly deal with the results of overindulgence. Unlike the other
Monster Magnet side project, The Atomic Bitchwax [see review above],
it seems improbable that this collaboration is intended as a
long-term project and the world is unlikely to see any more of The
Ribeye Brothers. Whilst recent Monster Magnet output lacks the
quality of their earlier releases and I would not be particularly
upset by their eventual demise, this album in conjunction with
anything by The Atomic Bitchwax adds force to the claim that it would
be a sad day should the various members of Monster Magnet (and
alumni) decide to withdraw from the music industry altogether.
Contact: http://www.meteorcity.com
Theory in Practice - _Colonizing the Sun_
by: David Rocher (9 out of 10) (Listenable Records, March 2002)
As the biography states, "Theory in Practice has to be heard to be
believed" -- a statement which falls nothing short of the truth, for
this Swedish quartet are, and without exaggeration, as unique as they
are awe-inspiring. With only three full-length releases on their
slates, Theory in Practice have crafted their own unique and
bewildering style of extreme metal, a hybrid thriving on compelling
melody, seemingly limitless inspiration and unbridled technicality.
Much more intricate and less blatantly Atheist-influenced than their
Pulverized debut _Third Eye Function_, _Colonizing the Sun_ is a
colossal entity of awe-inspiring progressive, heavy, technical death
metal, featuring more hooks, time changes, mystifying leads and
unbelievable arrangements than most bands will ever succeed in
churning out in the space of a decade. In fact, putting the essence
of _Colonizing the Sun_ in words is as close to impossible as the
title itself; cleverly eluding any possible musical classification,
yet directed and congruent enough to be ear-catching at a first
listen, Theory in Practice's third release is an epic, puzzling,
intricate yet furiously musical experience that will leave any
self-respecting metalhead with a taste for the unusual speechless and
bewitched; in the guise of this inconceivable meisterwerk of melodic
death metal may in fact lurk a future referential milestone; an
expanded, evolved and grandiose _Unquestionable Presence_ for the new
millennium -- and if you have trouble believing it, then taste it to
be subdued.
Third Voice - _Moments Like These_ (<Independent>, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley (7.5 out of 10)
Talk about a dynamic duo, and I ain't referring to Batman and Robin,
folks! The duo of Jeff Kearney (vocals) and Jason Pirone (every other
instrument) who make up Third Voice are quite the combination:
soaring, heartfelt vocals matched with tight musicianship. The
progressive rock ways of the band are done with such conviction and
intensity, though leaving room for the music to expand and radiate an
emotional aura at times. Some of the arrangements found on _Moments
Like These_ are truly mesmerizing. I can't imagine the hard work that
must have gone into this release, as it isn't often that you find a
duo taking on so much work to assemble an album (Pirone also produced
the album -- what doesn't he do?). The album rarely falters, and
tracks like the title track, "Simple Man" and "Take Me Back" are
superbly executed. Third Voice are one of the few progressive
independent acts out there that are doing their own thing when
everyone else is ripping off Dream Theater or Fates Warning.
Contact: http://www.thirdvoicemusic.com
Thirteen - _Magnifico Nova_ (XIII Bis, May 2002)
by: David Rocher (7 out of 10)
The brainchild of one lonesome Icelandic rocker, Hallur Ingolfsson,
Thirteen is a strange project, as intriguing as it is difficult
to fathom. Recorded at Rocklab studios and throughout "various
junkyards, construction sites & metalworks in Reykjavik", the cryptic
_Magnifico Nova_ actually only teeters on the brink of the metal
world, sounding like an industrial-tinged, strangely deluded, cold
Soundgarden or Pearl Jam-influenced collection of rock tracks.
Although providing an accurate description and suitable references to
_Magnifico Nova_ does seemingly fall beyond my reach, the brooding,
surprisingly heavy and alluringly eccentric rock cleverly crafted by
Ingolfsson provides a musical journey which is as soothing and
accessible as it is intricate and captivating, given the right time
and attention. Fundamentalists addicted to all-out musical brutality
will find nothing here to whet their appetite, and can safely forego
this release; however, the more tolerant of you who wish devote
a bruised and bleeding ear to less aggressive, soothing tones
resounding on the borderline of the metal confines should consider
listening to this unexpected, strangely non-mainstream experience.
This Midnight Stream - _Cinematic_ (Sound Vortex, 2002)
by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10)
The Midnight Sun's _Cinematic_ album is one of the strangest CDs I
have come in contact with in the last little at Chronicles of Chaos,
kind of like a mix between The Gathering, Enya and Tom Waits or
Lou Reed. I kid you not. The album, which as you'd probably
already figured out by now incorporates a lot of female vocals and
keyboard/electronic work, thrusts upon us a dazzling atmospheric vibe
as it carries on. Fans of newer-era The Gathering, underrated act The
Dreamside and others of the ilk might be into checking this band out,
as the echoing swirls of electronic bliss are tantalizing. Nice to
see an album like this reviewed in CoC, as it is far from blazing
death metal, but interesting enough for us metalheads to take a
chance on it and explore what else out there is extreme and possibly
groundbreaking. Check out the spiritual flow of "The Way Inside", the
bizarre opener "Fallen Angel" and the beautiful "Esther". Lots to
choose from here, so take a chance...
Contact: http://www.soundvortexrecording.com
Unpure - _Trinity in Black_ (Drakkar Productions, August 2001)
by: Quentin Kalis (8 out of 10)
Unpure are a Swedish trio who are obviously huge Celtic Frost fans,
as the Swiss masters' influence permeates every aspect of this album,
with some riffs sounding as if they were lifted straight from the _To
Mega Therion_ recording sessions. That said, Unpure are by no means a
glorified second rate Celtic Frost tribute band. Far from it. The
Celtic Frost influences are contained well within the perimeters of
their own sound, manifesting mainly in the rhythmic riffing that acts
as the bedrock for each song. Thrash elements are also present, but
it must be said that this is not the retro thrash currently peddled
by the likes of Bewitched. The thrash influences, combined with the
Celtic Frost influences, suggest a band that is firmly rooted in the
past, but _Trinity in Black_ is a surprisingly modern-sounding
record. Their mixture of the old and the new suggests a band in tune
with its influences and roots yet not afraid to advance the music
that they have come to love. One day they may very well join the
exalted ranks of fellow Swedes At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity as
purveyors of quality music. They're pretty close.
Void of Silence - _Criteria ov 666_ (Code666, February 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (8.5 out of 10)
Variety is usually seen as a good thing in most genres; but in doom
metal, I would much rather have consistency than a wide spectrum of
feelings in the music. Void of Silence fortunately belong to the more
consistent side of doom metal, and _Criteria ov 666_ profits
immensely from that. This isn't to say that the music itself is
monotonous and repetitive: there is certainly enough variety in the
musical approach to communicating their feelings to keep the listener
interested, but it is -what- they try to express that remains very
much a constant throughout (with one possible exception towards the
end). As indicated by the mood-setting artwork, the music of VoS
is very much in the Evoken and Unholy league of bleakness and
miserability. There is, however, considerable difference in their
musical approach: instead of doom/death, they mix a backdrop of
apocalyptic atmospheric elements with a varying combination of doom
metal with blackened shrieks (courtesy of Aborym's Malfeitor Fabban),
sombre chants and various other samples and elements. Amidst all
the bleakness, VoS occasionally throw in some nicely crafted and
appropriate melodies or frail vocals, masking things in a sound
that doesn't come across as obvious and simplistic. Musically
quite interesting, yet consistently negative and apocalyptic, with
_Criteria ov 666_ Void of Silence have created one of the stand-out
doom metal albums of recent years.
Contact: http://www.code666.net
Vomitory - _Blood Rapture_ (Metal Blade, February 2002)
by: David Rocher (9 out of 10)
The great kingdom of Sweden, internationally renowned for
Scandinavian trademark death metal, Saab Viggen fighters, Volvo
automobiles and, very soon, Vomitory musical steamhammers -- for
there is no better way to describe the blasting, monolithic slab of
grinding oblivion which comes in the guise of Vomitory's fourth
release. More cohesive and directed than ever they were before,
Vomitory have tapped upon a miraculous metallic vein of crushing
heaviness, merciless brutality and grinding speed. Short and sharp,
_Blood Rapture_ is an avatar indeed of the true unearthly power death
metal is renowned for -- devastating, adrenaline-laced heaviness, a
massive, brutally raucous sound (arguably the most crushing vibes
ever to emanate from the famed Berno studios), song structures that
pulverise anything in their path and unearthly vocals fuse to create
a hybrid lurking amidst the shadows cast by vintage Bolt Thrower,
Carcass and Napalm Death -- hungry yet? I am humbly grateful to
Vomitory for setting the clocks back the sincere, unpretentious
yet devastating way _Blood Rapture_ sees them peruse; revel in
the bestial frenzy that emanates from their fourth release, and
acknowledge the fact that Vomitory leave most tentatively "heavy",
supposedly "aggressive" and allegedly "fucked up" bands (not that I'm
hinting at any of Ross Robinson's offspring, of course) looking just
as potent and menacing as an aerophagic platypus.
[Pedro Azevedo: "From some bands you just know what to expect, and
from Vomitory it is Bolt Thrower meets old Swedish death metal.
_Blood Rapture_ is no exception to that rule, and it is another
thoroughly competent effort from the band. However, they do not seem
to have made any progress in terms of creating the ultimate
old-school death metal album with _Blood Rapture_ -- for some
reason, I actually enjoyed their previous disc _Revelation Nausea_
marginally better. The vocals are still rather monotonous, but apart
from that Vomitory have achieved an undeniably strong formula and
seem likely to stick with it for a long time to come."]
Zimmershole - _Legion of Flames_ (Virusworx, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (6 out of 10)
A side project with a strong Strapping Young Lad presence (both
the guitarist and the bass player are from SYL), Zimmershole is
essentially a group of musicians intent on having fun with their
music rather than focusing on anything else. They clearly state that
you may hear riffs that will sound familiar, as some of the record
seems to be a hybrid of originals and covers -- you'll hear a bit of
Metallica's "Master of Puppets" midway through a song, for instance.
Zimmershole make it clear that _Legion of Flames_ is about paying
tribute to their old metal heroes, and in the process creating an
unpretentious album that others with similar taste might enjoy.
There's quite a bit of a SYL influence in the rather potent sound,
but the style itself changes from track to track, depending on which
band Zimmershole are harvesting influence from. This results in some
good, rocking tracks and some exceedingly annoying ones ("Anaconda",
for instance). Despite being a "fun" band, the production and quality
of playing is very professional. Basically, the bigger a fan you are
of old heavy metal and hard rock -- Judas Priest, Metallica, etc.,
etc. --, the more likely you will be to headbang along with
Zimmershole. Those who do not have much interest in those eras of
heavy metal or may not be into the self-indulgent party atmosphere
that pervades the disc need not bother with this one.
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/\ \ \_____ __ /\ \ \___ (_)___ ___
/ \/ / _ \ \ /\ / / / \/ / _ \| / __|/ _ \
/ /\ / __/\ V V / / /\ / (_) | \__ \ __/
\_\ \/ \___| \_/\_/ \_\ \/ \___/|_|___/\___|
If you have a band, don't forget to send us your demo, including a
bio, if you want to be reviewed. We accept demos either on
traditional media or MP3 format. E-mail us at
<mailto:Demos@ChroniclesOfChaos.com> to know which is the most
appropriate postal address for you to send your CD or tape, in case
you are sending one, or to indicate the location of a website from
which we can download the MP3 files of your entire demo (but do
NOT send any files attached to your e-mail).
Scoring: ***** -- A flawless demo
**** -- Great piece of work
*** -- Good effort
** -- A major overhaul is in order
* -- A career change is advisable
Atropos - _Creature Chthonienne_ (5-track demo)
by: David Rocher (****-)
Atropos' second release, consecutive to their intriguing demo tape
_La Fileuse de Mort_, is an intricate "progressive extreme heavy
metal" deity, in which the black metal influences the French quintet
displayed on their first production now only shine through in the
guise of Gerald's seething blackened vocals and the occasional
blasting segues interspersed throughout Atropos' eight-minute plus
compositions. To clarify the obfuscous "progressive extreme heavy
metal" denomination, is should suffice for me to mention that
two essential references boldly spring to mind when listening to
_Creature Chthonienne_: Iron Maiden's _Seventh Son of a Seventh Son_
-- for its intricate, melodic technicality and highly imaginative
drum work -- and Edge of Sanity's _Crimson_, for its intense
rhythmic structures and aggressive vocals. Featuring three lengthy
epic, progressive and extreme metal soundscapes, a pleasant yet
somewhat dispensable "classic" (i.e. keyboard only) track plus a live
rendition of the first track on this MCD, _Creature Chthonienne_
literally teems with excellent ideas and flowing creativity, offering
countless heavy riffs and melodic rhythmic lines, all backed up by
a powerful, sharp and well-balanced production; the only mildly
disturbing point is in fact Gerald's black metal vocals, which take a
while to get used to, owing to the contrast they provide with
Atropos' music. Although these turn out to be quite enjoyable once
you get used to them, I believe that Atropos could successfully
introduce a little more variety (a la Opeth or Edge of Sanity,
precisely) in the vocal area, and thus add captivating new dimensions
and atmospheres to their future material. These are promising
auspices indeed.
Contact: Atropos c/o Geral Milani, 34 La Roque Courbiere,
13680 Lan�on, France
mailto:atropos13@caramail.com
Conquest of Steel - _Priests of Metal_ (4-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo (*----)
If you look at the title of this demo, you will probably retrieve
most of the information you require about the style Conquest of Steel
play: old style heavy metal a la Manowar. Take away all strength from
the guitar and drum department, and add an average vocalist who lacks
charisma and any ability to write lyrics, and you'll have a
reasonable idea of what this demo is like. The guitarists give it a
fair shot at trying to come up with some good lines as the band tries
to conjure up some memorable choruses, but overall the results are
desperately weak. Then we also have the expectable trite lyrics (gems
such as "I was born to rock / You were born to too / We were born to
rock / We'll rock with you") to complete the picture. Individually,
the band members have some good qualities, but as a band Conquest of
Steel have a very long way to go before they can become anything like
an alternative to their idols, let alone have an identity of their
own.
Contact: http://www.conquestofsteel.co.uk
Demonification - _A Thousand Sadness '00_ (3-track demo)
Demonification - _For The People '01_ (2-track demo)
by: Alvin Wee (***--)
There's been a distinct lack of quality in the old-school thrash
scene here in Singapore, with even old-timers like Abattory failing
to deliver the goods. It's nice to see bands other than Impiety
bringing a touch of classic thrash to their brand of extreme
metal, and convincingly at that. Relative neophytes Demonification
exceed expectations, spewing forth three tracks of pretty solid
-- if somewhat unpolished -- death/thrash. The mostly mid-paced
guitar-work is convincing enough, and, while never quite attaining
the neck-breaking levels of Swordmaster or Ritual Carnage, manages to
wring a few headbanging moments out of this jaded reviewer. Strangely
enough, the latter material fails to impress as much as the first
tape; much of the disappointment might lie with the disastrous vocals
which -almost- manage to wreck the entire proceedings. Annoying yowls
aside, the band pull off an even thrashier and more energetic piece
of work than on the first demo, showing their potential for producing
some pretty killer stuff in the future. It's important the band
doesn't lose direction while searching for an original sound, and
things don't look too bad at this stage given that the infamous
Drakkar label will be releasing their upcoming cassette-EP. All these
boys need is a smidgen of maturity and a touch more thought put into
their songwriting process and they could be on to greater things.
Contact: Blk 115, Potong Pasir Ave. 1, #02-894, S(350115), Singapore
mailto:infernalpsychofaisall@hotmail.com
Holochaust - _Holochaust_ (4-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo (***--)
Listening to the first couple of tracks after the intro, I have to
wonder: are Holochaust trying to become a Metallica cover band of
sorts? Since their _Valley of Misery_ demo [CoC #55], they only seem
to have become closer to Metallica and some of the covers the
Americans themselves play (or used to), judging by these two tracks.
The demo then ends with a doomy ballad. Holochaust again prove to be
a technically skilled band, capable of delivering a solid demo with a
couple of rocking tracks and a well executed ballad, but they have
simply failed to gain any more individuality that can set them apart
from the rest. Hopefully that will change in the future, because
Holochaust do have some potential.
Contact: http://www.go.to/holochaust/
Lost - _Lost_ (11-track demo)
by: Adrian Bromley (*----)
Talk about a band that is, well, lost. The music of this trio from
St. Louis, Missouri is about six years too late -- really. Sounding
like an older-era version of Korn, this trio does nothing new or
exciting with their aggressive music except rip off Korn. Can't this
band at least keep up with the musical trends of today? Where are the
Slipknot or In Flames influences? Geesh... Sure Lost offers up a bit
more intense vocals at times (but for the most part the softly sung
vocals suck ass) and the mood of the album shifts from song to song,
but does that make it any better given the fact that they are a clone
type band? Nope. I think it would have been a lot easier to just
write "Korn ripoff" at the beginning of this review, but sometimes I
like to punish myself.
Contact: Matt Westermayer, 917 Wilmington Ave.,
St. Louis, MO 63111, USA
Lost Soul's Cry - _Age of Forthcoming Chaos_ (5-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo (****-)
First and foremost, this one-man project from Holland is in dire
need of finding some decent artwork for future releases. Anyway,
the music is fast, keyboard-led blackened metal with synthetic
drums, interspersed with slower, doomier sections. Frank Klein
Douwel manages to single-handedly create some varied and competently
performed music on this demo, and he certainly deserves credit for
that. The music is not mindblowingly great, but it is quite good for
a demo and shows a lot of work. Due to the use of a drum machine, the
sound is sometimes a bit contrived rhythmically, and with time Douwel
should improve his artificial drumming to get around that. A rather
good, dynamic and varied demo; it is flawed in places, but as a demo
it is still a fine one-man effort that shows some good potential.
Contact: Postelstraat 5A, 5211 DW's-Hertogenbosch, Holland
mailto:lostsoulscry@dolfijn.nl
Maple Cross - _Promo 1/02_ (3-track promo)
by: Pedro Azevedo (***--)
Originally formed in 1985(!) and with seven(!!) demos and a
full-length CD in their bag, Maple Cross eventually split up in 1995,
after having played more than 200 live shows, according to the band.
Having now reformed, Maple Cross are back with eight new tracks,
three of which made their way onto this demo CD. I have no idea what
Maple Cross used to sound like, but that's probably not much of an
issue anyway: this reformation features only the original vocalist,
or should I say, screamer and part-time singer. Somewhere between
hard rock and heavy metal, Maple Cross alternate between chunky riffs
and melodic choruses in an unfailingly predictable way throughout the
opening track, then go into a faster and less memorable style for the
last couple of songs. They are quite adept at both styles, but don't
seem to come up with anything especially remarkable in the long run.
The shrill vocals certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea, but
instrumentally the band fares quite well. A decent effort overall,
but nothing special.
Contact: mailto:maplecross@surfeu.fi
Secret South - _Pieces of Faith_ (4-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo (**---)
From Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) comes this demo CD, and you will
occasionally find traces of ethnic influences in a couple of places
during _Pieces of Faith_. The music of Secret South is somewhere
between metal and hardcore, though the occasional chants and other
ethnic touches give it some more individuality. Technically things
are on the average side for a demo, and the same goes for the
production. The vocals, however, could have been better: although
they aren't terrible, they lack some more expression and power. The
songs themselves are neither bad nor very engaging. Secret South
manage some competent chunky riffs, but nothing remarkable or very
original. An average demo from a band that still needs to continue
looking for an identity more their own while they hone their
songwriting skills.
Contact: Gordan Stojic, Petra Kresimira IV. br. 3,
88000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
mailto:gojstoj@cob.net.ba
Slavia - _Gloria in Excelcis Sathan_ (5-track demo)
by: Quentin Kalis (****-)
Originally recorded in 2000 -- and presumably initially released
later in 2000 as well -- Drakkar Productions have now made Slavia's
demo available in a limited number of 666 hand-numbered copies since
last September. Slavia are a Norwegian band performing harsh sounding
black metal with a few scattered atmospheric touches. For some reason
unknown to me, what is apparently, to the best of my knowledge, the
Russian national anthem is tacked on to the end of one of the songs.
Also somewhat inexplicable is the band name, which is unusual
considering the near fascistic hyper nationalism that infuses much of
black metal. For a demo, this is relatively well produced, though the
guitars do sound a bit thin. But what should have been a flaw is
transformed into an asset, as the very hollowness of the sound adds a
slight melancholic edge to the music, which might very well have been
lost had the demo been subject to better production. The lack of
information regarding Slavia is somewhat irritating -- I have no idea
as to whether they are even still around! But if they are still
active, then Drakkar Productions can do far worse then to have Slavia
on their roster.
Contact: http://www.multimania.com/drakkar666
The Prophecy - _To End All Hope_ (4-track demo)
by: Pedro Azevedo (****-)
In a nutshell, The Prophecy aim to create doom metal which can be
slow and mournful but also suddenly burst into raging speed or
anything in between. They describe their sound as "characteristically
English" and based upon "the early nineties doom/death wave", which
is reasonably accurate but only becomes apparent with the second
track. During this demo CD, the band finds time to include an
atmospheric piano passage, acoustic guitar flourishes and some nice
violin work, but the variety of their doom metal lies in the various
types of riffs, vocals and pace they utilise. This can easily lead to
a doom metal record full of annoying upbeat passages, but when done
right it can also be extremely good -- an outburst of speed or an
especially crushing mid-paced riff could very well reach its maximum
effect when following a dirgeful sequence. The Prophecy seem to be on
the right path to achieving this, although for the time being not
everything they do fits perfectly with the rest. Still, for the most
part they are getting it right already, and as soon as they develop
their ideas into something more consistently remarkable, they will be
on their way to creating a very interesting disc indeed. I shall be
looking forward to hearing from these English doomsters again.
Contact: http://www.local-family-butcherers.co.uk
Urshurark - _Architecture of Perfect Damnation_ (8-track demo)
by: David Rocher (****-)
Urshurark's first full-length demo CD is an ambitious piece of work
(seven tracks plus an intro), that clocks in at no less than a proud
52 minutes. Delving into influences ranging from straightforward
aggressive thrash or melodic death metal riffs to symphonic black
metal atmospheres in the vein of present-day Dimmu Borgir, this young
Italian quartet possess quite a distinctive touch; their lengthy,
structurally elaborate tracks, wisely shifting from blasting displays
of breakneck speed to quieter, more subdued atmospheric movements hit
home with surprising accuracy, considering the length and superior
intricacy they display. Although this recording is afflicted by a
number of flaws -- an unbalanced production featuring peculiar drums
and excessively loud keyboards being the most prominent of these
--, for a first self-produced release, _Architecture of Perfect
Damnation_ turns out to be an unexpectedly efficient symbiosis of
aggression, ambience, melody and technicality. Agreed, some tracks
indeed do lose a share of their efficiency and power to their
excessive length and a number of less-inspired segues, and the weird
over-triggered production does waste a lot of the potential power
this release could have held; on the other hand though, imagining the
excellent first two tracks, "Hallucinated Messiah" and "Excellent Art
of Cruelty", with a production only half as stellar as that of
_Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia_ is an agreeable thought indeed.
Given the appropriate financial means and support from a label,
Urshurark could in time become a blackened metal force to be reckoned
with; concentrating on recording a smaller number of structurally
streamlined songs for a second self-produced release might just be
the spark that will set this very promising Italian act on the same
trails followed by leading extreme metal acts in the scene today --
in the meantime though, I can only pray that the Metal underground
will give Urshurark a truly well-deserved chance.
Contact: http://www.urshurark.too.it
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/\ _`\ /\ \ /\ \__ __
\ \ \/\_\\ \ \___ __ ___\ \ ,_\/\_\ ___
\ \ \/_/_\ \ _ `\ /'__`\ / __`\ \ \/\/\ \ /'___\
\ \ \L\ \\ \ \ \ \/\ \L\.\_/\ \L\ \ \ \_\ \ \/\ \__/
\ \____/ \ \_\ \_\ \__/.\_\ \____/\ \__\\ \_\ \____\
\/___/ \/_/\/_/\/__/\/_/\/___/ \/__/ \/_/\/____/
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/\ _`\ /\ \__
\ \ \/\_\ ___ ___ ___ __ _ __\ \ ,_\ ____
\ \ \/_/_ / __`\ /' _ `\ /'___\ /'__`\/\`'__\ \ \/ /',__\
\ \ \L\ \/\ \L\ \/\ \/\ \/\ \__//\ __/\ \ \/ \ \ \_/\__, `\
\ \____/\ \____/\ \_\ \_\ \____\ \____\\ \_\ \ \__\/\____/
\/___/ \/___/ \/_/\/_/\/____/\/____/ \/_/ \/__/\/___/
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C A T H A R S I S I N D O O M
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Dying Bride and Mysterium
at the Hard Club, Gaia, Portugal, on April 20th 2002
by: Pedro Azevedo
Having received My Dying Bride's brand new live disc _The Voice
of the Wretched_ the previous day [see review in this issue], I
simply couldn't wait to witness my favourite band live for the first
time. Said live album was already superb on its own, but MDB's latest
opus _The Dreadful Hours_ [CoC #55] (best album of 2001 in my books)
was yet to be added to its setlist. My Dying Bride would not
disappoint tonight. Quite simply, they delivered the best gig of my
life -- past, present and most likely future, I dare say. Within a
packed Hard Club, I believe many of those in attendance found
catharsis in doom tonight.
First, however, the local band routine had to be fulfilled.
Mysterium were the chosen ones, and they performed a decent yet
hardly groundbreaking kind of melodic death metal. Their single
guitar compositions were enhanced by keyboards and female vocals, and
after a less than promising start they could have ended on a high
with the song they dedicated to My Dying Bride; instead they played
one more song, completing a passable performance.
After a funereal church organ intro, My Dying Bride appeared on
stage. New guitarist Hamish Glencross immediately stood out, with his
massive frame and what can only be described as a Grim Reaper outfit.
The new (temporary?) female keyboardist who was replacing Yasmin
Ahmid probably caught plenty of eyes as well, but not many ears
during the show: her performance was sparse and mostly subdued,
except for a couple of songs. Still, center stage and spotlight were
all on the band's charismatic singer: Aaron Stainthorpe, misery
personified on stage. But whilst he looked more wretched than The
Crow clawing out of his grave, his performance was nothing short of
amazing in its dynamics. The way his attitude and musical persona
changed with his voice from mournful to darkly romantic and into
demonic wrath was simply amazing throughout the show.
As soon as the intro stopped, the band opened with "My Hope, the
Destroyer" off their new album. Aaron's clean vocals proved to be in
top form, but it was midway through the track that his -huge- growls
filled the room for the first time, leaving the audience in awe. The
excellent "The Raven and the Rose" followed, again from their new
album _The Dreadful Hours_. The powerful opening riff and the
mid-section crescendo and blastbeat more than confirmed that My Dying
Bride were determined to force all those who accused them of cowardly
going back to their musical roots to swallow their words with each
pounding of the drums, strumming of the chords and outpouring of
superb vocals.
"Under Your Wings and Into Your Arms" from _34.788%_ followed, a
faster track that suffered somewhat from a less than perfect drum
sound, which fortunately did not affect any other songs. This track
served as just a brief respite before what was to come next, as the
intensity then soared. The mighty "Turn Loose the Swans" ensued, and
what a rendition it was. Aaron seemed to literally grow on stage
during the harsher sections, somehow producing those massive growls
from within the same frame that moments later would reduce itself to
a wretch and utter sombre laments, as the song's crushing first
section gave way to the heartbreaking finale.
"A Cruel Taste of Winter" off the new album came next, with its
superb mid-section where Aaron again excelled. The sublime "The Snow
in my Hand" took us back to _Turn Loose the Swans_ again, followed by
the magical "The Cry of Mankind" (_The Angel and the Dark River_) and
"A Kiss to Remember" (_Like Gods of the Sun_). These were the only
two tracks where the keyboards were really felt, but I have to say
the thought of a violin hardly ever crossed my mind during the show,
such was the level of the guitar playing. The audience had been
absolutely enraptured for a long time now, and the instrumental
mid-section of "The Cry of Mankind" was spontaneously sung along by
the crowd. The band's interaction with the crowd was minimal: just
the announcement of song titles. Aaron's dramatic performance seemed
all turned into himself, for his own sake and from his own feelings,
rather than performed as a show for the audience.
The searing, demonic snarls on "She Is the Dark" again peaked
the intensity, as each and every song seemed to grow and develop into
something mightier and deeper than its respective recorded version.
Even though the band recently re-recorded "The Return of the
Beautiful" from their debut _As the Flower Withers_ for _The Dreadful
Hours_, that was not the track they chose to play next. Instead, they
went for something even older -- the first song they ever wrote, as a
matter of fact: "Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium". If you
heard the re-recording of "The Return of the Beautiful", you can
probably imagine what MDB have done to "Symphonaire Infernus":
augment and expand its sound, increase its contrasts and high points.
A truly devastating rendition of this lengthy doom metal classic.
After a brief pause, the band returned with the sound of
rainfall and beautiful soft guitar: the intro to the title track of
_The Dreadful Hours_. One of MDB's most poignant songs, its harsher
sections were at their blackest and the mournful ending at its
most heartbreaking, Aaron's mournful vocals again the highlight.
Nonetheless, my frequent mentioning of MDB's vocalist should not be
mistaken for an indication that the rest of the band was any less
brilliant: with the exception of the unremarkable keyboardist, all
four other band members' performances were superb.
My Dying Bride finished their set with the successor to "The
Forever People", "The Fever Sea": a fast-paced, driving conclusion to
a truly exhilarating performance. And then, after My Dying Bride's
departure, someone played Katatonia's _Dance of December Souls_ -- an
album with huge personal meaning for me -- from beginning to end on
the Hard Club's sound system.
The catharsis was complete.
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T H E N I G H T A F T E R T H E N I G H T B E F O R E
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Immortal, Hypocrisy and Holocausto Canibal
at the Hard Club, Gaia, Portugal, on April 21st 2002
by: Pedro Azevedo
On the aftermath of the previous night's awe-inspiring My Dying
Bride gig [see above], I dragged my knackered self back to the
Hard Club for a promising double-headliner featuring Immortal and
Hypocrisy.
The news that support band Warhammer had cancelled did not
distress me in the least: I had never heard of them before, and in
fact I'd rather skip the support bands altogether and move on to
Hypocrisy immediately. Tough luck, though: local death/grind outfit
Holocausto Canibal not only did play, they played for over half an
hour and started two hours late. A massive crowd gathered and waited
outside, watched the tour bus arrive and was finally allowed inside
the venue, which looked very close to capacity.
With the release of their second full-length imminent,
Holocausto Canibal blasted through their set with considerable
aggression but also a great lack of variation, originality and
interesting songwriting. They did prove to have matured considerably
since I first saw them a few years ago -- which was the least one
could expect, considering the mediocrity of that early performance
--, but they don't seem to be going anywhere particularly interesting
with their rather generic gore-obsessed death metal. Perhaps the new
record will be more revealing of the qualities they may have.
The 45 minute break that ensued was a pain to endure, to say the
least, but seeing Hypocrisy live for the first time should more than
make up for the effort. It -should- have, but alas it did not. It
annoys me to the point of feeling like thrusting my copy of
_Hypocrisy Destroys Wacken_ into orbit (or at least giving it a good
try), but Tagtgren and his men (including what I assume to be a
touring second guitarist) failed to live up to the expectations said
live disc had created in me. This is not the band's fault for the
most part, however, but rather the sound engineer's. Hypocrisy's
sound never seemed right, mainly because the bass guitar was so loud
in the mix that it hampered both guitars with its distortion and
it all came out too strident and blurred. Hypocrisy without a
significant part of the guitar detail only works for the older,
simpler songs. At this stage I hadn't yet heard a single track off
their new _Catch 22_ album; the new tracks they played seemed very
rhythm-based, chunky riffs replacing their more involved guitar work.
Having said that, Hypocrisy still have a highly impressive repertoire
and Tagtgren was an energetic frontman throughout, so in spite of the
sound difficulties and a rather debatable setlist, they still managed
to produce an entertaining set -- just not as memorable as I
expected.
Hypocrisy opened with "Fractured Millennium" off their eponymous
album, which suffered considerably from the poor sound quality,
followed by new tracks "Don't Judge Me" and "A Public Puppet".
Crowd favourite "Apocalypse" (the opening track from _The Fourth
Dimension_) was next, followed by "Fire in the Sky" from _Into the
Abyss_. The band then tore into "Penetralia", "Until the End" (from
_Hypocrisy_), "Pleasure of Molestation", "Osculum Obscenum" and
"Destroyed". They wrapped up their set with the classic "Roswell 47"
(from _Abducted_) and the emotional title track from _The Final
Chapter_, both of which again could have been far more memorable
under different sound circumstances.
I expected a lengthy old intro before Immortal stared playing,
but they certainly surprised me there: out of the dark and silent
stage suddenly came the sound of powerful drums, followed by
thundering guitar and bass as the lights came on and Immortal walked
onto the stage, tearing into "Triumph" (_Damned in Black_). The sound
worked much better for Immortal than for Hypocrisy: powerful yet
clear enough. The trio's stage presence is rather befuddling at
first, as one realizes these strange creatures actually live and move
around like regular people. Immortal's make-up and poses on paper
have never failed to amuse me, yet live they carry an entirely
different aura. Furthermore, their music speaks for itself. As they
moved onto _Damned in Black_'s title track and the powerful _Sons of
Northern Darkness_ opener "One by One", it became clear that the live
Immortal are a force to be reckoned with. Abbath's snarls were
somewhat repetitive, as usual, but his guitar playing was impressive
-- especially considering he was the only guitar player on stage and
had to handle the vocals as well. Potent bass guitar complemented a
sound driven forth by Horgh's intense percussion.
"Solarfall" off _At the Heart of Winter_ was next, followed by a
_Sons of Northern Darkness_ double: the title track and "Tyrants".
Very impressive. Back to _At the Heart of Winter_ then with its fine
opener "Withstand the Fall of Time", and then _Sons of Northern
Darkness_ again with its closing track "Beyond the North Waves", a
somewhat slower but equally intense number. Amidst some decent but
not particularly amazing fire-breathing courtesy of Abbath, Immortal
finished their set with two crowd favourites from _Battles in the
North_: its blazing title track and the epic closer "Blashyrkh
(Mighty Ravendark)". A thoroughly satisfying performance that managed
to make up for Hypocrisy's sadly sound-hampered display.
All in all, the gig proved to be a worthy conclusion to the
weekend, although one that made me arrive home at 4am on a Sunday --
and yes, I did have to somehow trudge along to work that morning...
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N O R T H E R N D A R K N E S S D E S C E N D S
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Immortal & Hypocrisy
Mean Fiddler (formerly London Astoria 2), London, 10th of April, 2002
by: Paul Schwarz
It seems that many punters arrived early to catch openers
Warhammer -- Germany's dim reflection of, rather than answer -to-,
Hellhammer -- because when Hypocrisy initiate their set with
head-down, melodic-chorused thrasher "Don't Judge Me" -- the opening
cut on their recently released eighth album, the musical embodiment
of Peter Tagtgren's cathartic backlash against the forces that sought
to make him, his -name-, a commodity, _Catch 22_ -- a well-stocked
mosh-pit is there to welcome them. Hypocrisy are on fine form. Though
obviously enjoying their first visit to UK shores, the Swedes aren't
slacking off. They give it all they've got -- and though occasionally
they come across a little workmanlike, Hypocrisy acquit themselves
amply, proving that their semi-charmed status in Europe hasn't
made them soft. The somewhat indulgent Hypocrisy who frustrated
me at 1999's March Metal Metldown [CoC #40] are nowhere to be
found; though, naturally, the likes of "Penetralia" and "Pleasure
of Molestation" invigorate me more than "Apocalypse" or anything
off 1999's dry, almost ironic, _Hypocrisy_ [CoC #41] ever could,
Hypocrisy don't let their guard down. They give it to us straight --
and with mosh-friendly stormers like "Destroyed" in their live sets,
Hypocrisy may well win a few new friends. But the old-guard need not
worry: the delivery of devil-worship-driven old favourites like
"Impotent God" was every bit as devastating as that of _Abducted_
well-known "Roswell 47", if not more so. Even with an eight-album
back-catalogue to account for, and a mere forty minutes to perform,
Hypocrisy manage to play a well-balanced yet cleanly-focussed show.
That alone is impressive. Here's hoping they're back for a more
extensive (tonight's package has but one more date, the tour's
-second-, in the UK) headlining tour before the year is out.
It is pleasing to see that, even after ten years, Immortal
haven't stopped appearing live, and on album covers, in corpsepaint.
Not because "black metallers should wear corpsepaint"; because
-Immortal- should. It suits them; they suit it. Especially now. _At
the Heart of Winter_ [CoC #39] partially reinvented Immortal.
There was a feeling of "rock"; before _AtHoW_, Immortal had felt
wholeheartedly, unflinchingly black metal -- well, death metal on
_Blizzard Beasts_ [CoC #19], but that's an Immortal album best
forgotten. Immortal still weren't flinching from black metal --
-those- photos, those ridiculous, marvellous photos of Abbath and
Horgh which accompanied _AtHoW_ more than confirmed any suspicions to
the contrary -- but unintentionally -- though not shamefully, in my
view -- the Norwegians had become a visual parody of themselves which
displaced their ties to the over-serious, "true" black metal crowd
and simultaneously reaffirmed why corpsepaint works "seriously" for
Immortal. I don't really understand it myself, but it's a fact as
far as I'm concerned. In the end it's neither here nor there,
really: Immortal's music has always remained steadfastly serious.
Unfortunately, 2000's _Damned in Black_ [CoC #47] was seriously
lacking; thankfully, _Sons of Northern Darkness_ has just made up for
it -- no, scratch that, _SoND_ has just -eradicated- it, erasing
Immortal from my bad books in the process. A pity, then, that
Immortal choose to open with two _DiB_ numbers -- though it does mean
that the worst part of tonight's performance is over and done with
early. "One by One" leads the real charge into tonight's battle (from
the north), Immortal affirming in deed what they claim in word: to be
the "Sons of Northern Darkness". Immortal today are a punishingly
powerful three-piece who've mixed a black metal mainline -- their
central musical blood-vein -- with more established rock songwriting
styles. The corpsepaint is part of Immortal the way the make-up was
part of KISS or the biking leathers were part of 'Priest: a defining
part of them. It's not as confrontational in its campness; that
wouldn't swing with Immortal's audience any more than it would swing
with Immortal. If there's camp here, it's under the surface -- not
forthrightly a part of the band who take to the Mean Fiddler stage,
and set it aflame. Heavy metal is most definitely Immortal's
way. Drummer Horgh pounds his kit precisely, decorating brutal
compositions with stunning breaks and, on stage, adds just the dash
of showmanship needed to spice things up without letting ego
get in the way of performance. It's as Abbath wrings the last
signs of distorted life from his guitar to usher in "Blashyrk
(Mighty Ravendark)"'s final sections (that acoustic-infused calm
before the storm of the song's full-fury finish) that the pure,
-possessed- emotion of Immortal's performance finally hits home.
Sure, they finished a few songs with rock 'n' roll-style endings and
Abbath paused on many occasions to exploit the crowd's ecstatic
appreciation; but it was all in the name of making a great
-performance-, into a great -gig-. Immortal didn't pose -- they
didn't walk onstage with the ridiculous weapons they brandish on the
cover of _SoND_, for example -- but they did accept and exploit,
in the -right- way, their position of power. Even though they
chose to include not a single song from _Pure Holocaust_, I
wasn't disappointed by Immortal's performance -- which got the Mean
Fiddler rocking like I've rarely seen it, even without the aid of
recently-departed bassist Iscariah. Coming from someone who ranks
_Pure Holocaust_ among their favourite black metal records, that
really is saying a lot. Don't ignore Immortal for the wrong reasons:
they are one of the few truly great contemporary metal bands on their
way -up-, and with a US tour with Manowar currently scheduled for
later this year, who knows what height they might reach? I'll be
watching -- not to mention -listening- -- with interest. That much is
for sure.
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G O O D , E V I L W E E K E N D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Inferno Festival
at Rockefeller and John Dee, Oslo, Norway
March 29th and 30th 2002
by: Chris Flaaten
The Inferno Festival is growing into a tradition now at its
second year -- and the third is already being planned as I write. Its
mission is to be a showcase for Norwegian metal bands as well as
finally bringing a festival to Norway. It has certainly succeeded in
both ways. It has experienced some turbulence, though. Last year they
had announced most of Norway's bigger metal acts, but later had to
admit that they had only asked those bands to perform -- nothing had
been confirmed. This year Aura Noir cancelled as a protest against
what they -- and many with them -- felt was an unreasonable split of
the money. Dimmu Borgir apparently got paid dozens times more than
the other bands... I won't say much on this matter, but it seems
apparent that lesser known bands have much more to gain career-wise
by playing on a festival like this than Dimmu Borgir. Money is not
all that matters. Twenty one "underpaid" bands still showed up to
play, and they all seemed to enjoy it.
Day 1
~~~~~
On March 29th, good Friday, it kicked off. I missed openers
Nocturnal Breed and arrived during Scariot's set. Scariot, an
unsigned band from southern Norway, can be described as a very
aggressive Nevermore. This is mainly due to the vocalist, who sings
quite similarly to Mr Dane. The band delivered a solid performance
and I'm looking forward to checking out their debut when they get
signed and release it. Next up on the main stage was Carpathian
Forest. I noticed they had better sound than the last time I saw them
[CoC #43], but since I don't like the band all that much, I decided
to find a good spot in front of the John Dee stage instead. Minas
Tirith was next! The last time I saw Minas Tirith was actually on the
same gig as when I last saw Carpathian Forest. They were both openers
for Mayhem when they last visited home. Minas Tirith were in great
form and had a crystal clear sound, only lacking a little more punch
in the guitars to be perfect. They played a varied setlist, including
a new song and some old favorites and obscurities. Great performance.
Next up on the main stage was Aeternus, and I was met with a
thick wall of distorted guitars when I made my way upstairs
again. Their sound absolutely smashed! Amidst the set, the vocalist
announced: "There is a serious lack of air up here, but we'll
continue at full speed!" And so they did, focusing on their latest
album _Ascension of Terror_. Aeternus proved beyond any doubt that
death metal is alive and well in Norway. After Aeternus, I decided to
skip John Dee for the rest of the night, as it was massively
overcrowded. This gave me time and opportunity to find a decent place
to watch Behemoth. Nergal and company played through a great setlist,
technically superb and at furious speed, but the sound ruined their
show. You could recognize the songs fairly easily, but they were
stripped of any punch. All treble and no bass makes Behemoth sound
dull. Too bad, as they were one of the bands I really looked forward
to seeing. They were among the few foreign bands that attended, and
it's a shame that they were denied proper sound. As it would turn
out, the other foreign "big name", Lock-Up, suffered the same fate.
Around 1am, roughly on schedule, it was time for the main
attraction: Dimmu Borgir. Dimmu had made a stop fairly recently at
the same venue as part of their last tour, so they had announced they
would play some older material at Inferno. Many grew skeptical during
the first forty-five minutes, as all their songs were relatively new,
but after a strategic break Dimmu returned with old favorites like
"Nar Alt Lys Har Svunnet Hen" and "Raabjorn Speiler Draugheimens
Skodde". Both sound and execution were mediocre, though, so in many
people's opinion they failed to live up to their reputation (and
paycheck). Norway's biggest channel, NRK, videotaped all the bands
who performed on the main stage on Friday. You can download those
videos at: http://www.nrk.no/kanal/nrk_petre/ambolt/1738274.html (use
ASFRecorder to download).
Day 2
~~~~~
We arrived early at Rockefeller and found ourselves a great
place to stand... so great that we never left it, thusly I blatantly
ignored the bands at John Dee this day. I later found out that some
of the crowd was denied entrance there because it was completely
full, so I have no regrets. Source of Tide was first out on the main
stage. Led by Lord PZ, a man who's a little too fond of attention,
this band actually surprised me in a positive way. Their massive and
gloomy guitar sound and harmonies reminded me of older Anathema --
energetic melodies with a distinct sound. The only setback is their
vocalist, who not only diverts attention from the good music to
himself, but is not a very -good- vocalist either. He works better
here than in Peccatum, but in my opinion... that's not saying much.
After Source of Tide, Blood Red Throne was up. The stage sound
was missing during the first song, but apart from their expressions
and dialogue with the roadies, I couldn't tell anything was wrong.
The problem was apparently fixed, because they seemed more relaxed
for the remainder of the set, which included two or three new songs
along with tracks from their recent album _Monument of Death_ [CoC
#57]. They actually played their first song again later on due to the
initial sound problems, but I didn't hear that much of a difference.
Their performance was intense, fast and very professional, and BRT
are hopefully, along with Aeternus, the beginning of a real Norwegian
death metal scene.
Next up, Vintersorg, who closed last year's Inferno Festival,
but back then as Borknagar's vocalist. This year, his own band made
their debut on Norwegian soil. They started out with newer material,
but poured out some old favorites soon enough -- much to the crowd's
approval. The Norwegian audience obviously favors older Vintersorg
with Swedish lyrics. The band had decent sound and played tightly
enough. Nothing spectacular, but above average.
Lock-Up had dreadful sound and I can only describe what I heard
as painful noise. Since I had no interest in the remaining bands,
Aggressor and Witchery, I called it a night and left with a slight
headache and ears ringing -- the way it should be after a metal
festival.
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W H A T W E H A V E C R A N K E D ! ! !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gino's Top 5
1. Judas Priest - _Sad Wings of Destiny_
2. Judas Priest - _Sin After Sin_
3. Katharsis - Demos
4. Rev. Kriss Hades - _The Wind of Orion_
5. Aphotic - _Under Veil of Dark_
Adrian's Top 5
1. Dio - _Killing the Dragon_
2. Belinus - _Battlechants_
3. Dream Evil - _Dragonslayer_
4. Earthride - _Taming the Demons_
5. Between the Buried and Me - _Between the Buried and Me_
Alain's Top 5
1. Mastodon - _Remission_
2. Theory in Practice - _Colonizing the Sun_
3. Seth - _Divine X_
4. Origami Galaktika - _Stjernevandring / Eesti Libbed Silmad Suda_
5. Atrox - _Terrestrials_
Pedro's Top 5
1. My Dying Bride - _The Voice of the Wretched_
2. The Great Deceiver - _A Venom Well Designed_
3. Amorphis - _The Karelian Isthmus_
4. The Crown - _Crowned in Terror_
5. Immortal - _Sons of Northern Darkness_
Paul's Top 5
1. Arch Enemy - _Wages of Sin_
2. Green Carnation - _Light of Day, Day of Darkness_
3. Atheist - _Unquestionable Presence_
4. Nasum - _Human 2.0_
5. Summoning - _Dol Guldur_
Aaron's Top 5
1. Mastodon - _Lifesblood_
2. KMFDM - _Attak_
3. Overkill - _Wrecking Everything - Live_
4. Hidden - _Spectral Magnitude_
5. Engorged (advanced promo)
David's Top 5
1. Moonsorrow - _Voimasta Ja Kunmiasta_
2. Skyclad - _The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth_
3. Ensiferum - _Ensiferum_
4. Wolverine - _The Window Purpose_
5. The Crown - _Crowned in Terror_
Matthias' Top 5
1. The Crown - _Crowned in Terror_
2. Vader - _Revelations_
3. A Canorous Quintet - _The Only Pure Hate_
4. Asphyx - _Last One on Earth_
5. The Forsaken - _Arts of Desolation_
Alvin's Top 5
1. Immortal - _Sons of Northern Darkness_
2. Poema Arcanus - _Iconoclast_
3. Shinjuku Thief - _The Witch Haven_
4. Destroyer 666 - _Cold Steel for an Iron Age_
5. King Diamond - _Abigail II_
Chris' Top 5
1. Arcturus - _The Sham Mirrors_
2. Dark Tranquillity - _Damage Done_
3. The Crown - _Crowned in Terror_
4. Sirenia - _At Sixes and Sevens_
5. Theory in Practice - _Colonizing the Sun_
Quentin's Top 5
1. Arcturus - _The Sham Mirrors_
2. The Atomic Bitchwax - _Spit Blood_
3. Vinterriket -_Herbstnebel_
4. Unpure - _Trinity in Black_
5. Svartsinn - _Devouring Consciousness_
Vincent's Top 5
1. Sirenia - _At Sixes and Sevens_
2. My Dying Bride - _The Voice of the Wretched_
3. Dream Evil - _DragonSlayer_
4. Battlelore - _...Where the Shadows Lie_
5. Star One - _Space Metal_
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Homepage: http://www.ChroniclesOfChaos.com
FTP Archive: ftp://ftp.etext.org/pub/Zines/ChroniclesOfChaos
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DESCRIPTION
~~~~~~~~~~~
Chronicles of Chaos is a FREE monthly magazine electronically
distributed worldwide via the Internet. Seemingly endless interviews,
album reviews and concert reviews encompass the pages of Chronicles
of Chaos. Chronicles of Chaos stringently emphasizes all varieties of
chaotic music ranging from black and death metal to electronic/noise
to dark, doom and ambient forms. Chronicles of Chaos is dedicated
to the underground and as such we feature demo reviews from all indie
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End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #58
All contents copyright 2002 by individual creators of included work.
All opinions expressed herein are those of the individuals expressing
them, and do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone else.