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CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, February 6, 2004, Issue #70
http://www.ChroniclesOfChaos.com
Co-Editor / Founder: Gino Filicetti
Co-Editor / Contributor: Pedro Azevedo
Contributor: Adrian Bromley
Contributor: Brian Meloon
Contributor: Paul Schwarz
Contributor: Aaron McKay
Contributor: David Rocher
Contributor: Matthias Noll
Contributor: Alvin Wee
Contributor: Chris Flaaten
Contributor: Quentin Kalis
Contributor: Xander Hoose
Contributor: Adam Lineker
Contributor: Adrian Magers
Contributor: James Montague
Contributor: Jackie Smit
Spiritual Guidance: Alain M. Gaudrault
The individual writers can be reached by e-mail at
firstname.lastname@ChroniclesOfChaos.com.
(e.g. Gino.Filicetti@ChroniclesOfChaos.com).
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Issue #70 Contents, 2/6/2004
----------------------------
-- Moonspell: Under the Spell of the Antidote
-- Darkane: The Will to Overcome
-- All Out War - _Condemned to Suffer_
-- Anathema - _A Natural Disaster_
-- Dark Tranquillity - _Live Damage_ DVD
-- Decapitated - _The Negation_
-- Demoncy - _Empire of the Fallen Angel_
-- Divine Empire - _Nostradamus_
-- Exodus - _Tempo of the Damned_
-- Faustcoven - _The Halo of Burning Wings_
-- Hell-Born - _Legacy of the Nephilim_
-- Hypocrisy - _The Arrival_
-- In the Woods... - _Live at the Caledonien Hall_
-- Kataklysm - _Serenity in Fire_
-- Klimt 1918 - _Undressed Momento_
-- Mayhem / The Meads of Asphodel - _Freezing Moon, Carnage / Jihad_
-- Opeth - _Lamentations - Live at Shepherd's Bush Empire_ DVD
-- Penumbra - _Seclusion_
-- Samael - _Black Trip_ DVD
-- S�nderfall - _�del�ggelse_
-- The Meads of Asphodel - _Exhuming the Grave of Yeshua_
-- Various - _Defenders of Metal Volume 1 - The Seduction_
-- Watain - _Casus Luciferi_
-- Xasthur - _The Funeral of Being_
-- Zaraza - _No Paradise to Lose_
-- Athela - _Reliance_
-- SIG:AR:TYR - _The Stranger_
-- Why, Mr Sound Engineer, Why?
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
U N D E R T H E S P E L L O F T H E A N T I D O T E
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with Fernando Ribeiro of Moonspell
by: Jackie Smit
There are those -- mostly band members embittered at poor reviews, it
would seem -- that would try to convince you otherwise, but there is
a basic motivation that binds together virtually every single soul
who ever chose to put pen to paper to air an opinion about an album,
or write an article on a band: we're all fans of the music we write
about. I have been a fan of extreme music for nearly fifteen years
and remember fondly my first encounters with bands like Slayer,
Morbid Angel and Samael. Another standout in this prestigious list
are Portugal's darkest sons, Moonspell -- a band who need no
introduction, and who first came to my attention via their infamous
_Under the Moonspell_ EP. Of course, the band has since metamorphosed
into an almost entirely different entity from their black metal
roots -- a fact that has garnered them a generous serving of
well-documented criticism. Speaking purely as a fan however, this has
never bothered me. To these ears, the essence of Moonspell has always
remained intact for better or for worse. Central to this has been the
influence and undeniable presence of frontman Fernando Ribeiro, a man
who I recently had the privilege of sharing a conversation with when
Moonspell rolled into town on Lacuna Coil's European tour.
CoC: Starting with _The Antidote_, how did it come about that you
started working with Jos� Luis Peixoto?
Fernando Ribeiro: Well, I think that there was always something
in the lines of Moonspell -- something probably
written somewhere that we would sooner or later
work with a writer, and incorporate this into our
music to a greater degree. Throughout our history
we have always had a strong literary influence, and
there's always been some kind of literary intention
running through the sound of Moonspell. So this
time, Jos� -- who's a very good friend of ours --
came up with the idea of absorbing all the energies
of _The Antidote_ and creating a narrative around
it. We accepted it openheartedly, because we've
always had a fascination with reading and, in my
case, writing, so we collaborated and came up with
an album that shouldn't only be listened to, but
would draw the listener in to the concept behind
the album through the writing and through my
lyrics. The album is like the central point of a
crossroads for us and the hope is that a lot of
other people -- fans of the band -- will work
around the concept and come up with their own
writing and their own art, because that is very
important to Moonspell. We wanted to start a kind
of a chain. It was also quite strange that a writer
would want to become involved in something like
this, as most writers are very uptight about their
work and they mostly quote classical music --
Vivaldi and Wagner -- but this guy listens to
Obituary and he listens to Graveworm and he listens
to Moonspell. This I think is very good for the
genre -- I think it's very good for the credibility
of metal. Metal has always been a very literary
genre, starting off with Iron Maiden and "Rime of
the Ancient Mariner", which was based on Coleridge.
CoC: Could you outline the concept behind _The Antidote_ a little
more?
FR: I just write without any kind of limitation of a concept in the
beginning. I write a lot of poetry, a lot of other stuff and I
also read a lot -- even about the writing process. And for me,
that's always been the best way to do things: to work with
freedom in the beginning, after which you can start with the
difficult part of making sense of everything, which usually
doesn't show up in the initial stages of developing something
like this. So, basically, with _The Antidote_ I had almost
finished all the lyrics, we had the name of the album, and in the
end, when we had finished the recording and mixed the music, I
realized that if you take all the poetic charge and the metaphors
from the lyrics and from Jos�'s book, then the common element
would be fear. I think that that music also sounds a lot like
fear -- it's intimidating at times, it's powerful and it's
spiritual. So fear is what I think we're talking about in _The
Antidote_; especially fear of losing and fear of dying. The
bottom line is that Moonspell is a very classical band when it
comes to lyrical themes actually, and even though a lot of people
find it very tired to write about love or whatever other emotion,
I don't think that you can write about anything else -- the
inspiration for everything comes from these emotions and I think
that we as a band also have the ability to portray these emotions
musically.
CoC: So with all your own personal writing taken into account, do you
see a similar project for Moonspell based around your work in
the future?
FR: I don't know. I mean, we are very open and the Portuguese
artistic community is generally very open when it comes to things
like this. But I don't know whether we'll do another project with
a book, because it's already been done with _The Antidote_. With
_Darkness & Hope_ it was covering a song by a Portuguese band,
with _Butterfly FX_ it was the idea to record in all sorts of
different places -- we always try and think of something unique
to add to each album.
CoC: Moonspell seems to have made an effort throughout their career
do be different on every album. Has this effort always been a
conscious one, or is it a product of natural progression?
FR: Well, with _The Antidote_ -- I see it as a very intentional
album, but the way that it was written and delivered, that was
very natural. _The Antidote_ was an album that was growing inside
of us for a long time, because it's not like people think; art
takes time -- time to choose the right lyric, the right notes,
the right way to express what you're trying to say. We have
always wanted a style that people can identify with and to have
certain features in our music that people can relate to, but the
way that we approach this style is definitely progressive. It's
done with a progressive spirit attached it, so as with life, it's
natural, but it's also intentional.
CoC: So, looking at Moonspell circa _Under the Moonspell_ and
Moonspell of present day -- would you say that it's still the
same band essentially?
FR: Not really. I mean, if you listen to _Under the Moonspell_,
it's very ambitious, very experimental and maybe even a bit
pretentious. And this creative spark, I think, has always been a
part of Moonspell, and with our experience and growing as people,
we can express ourselves much better and I think that _The
Antidote_ is definitely a good example of it. I think that it
would be wrong to say that we are still the same band, but as
Crowley says, "what's eternal, remains", and I think that we have
changed a lot in our style; put those things aside that we think
are superfluous and unnecessary after experimenting. But I think
that there are some features about our music that will never
change.
CoC: Now, you've also been ostracized a lot about the changes that
you've brought into every album. How do you feel about that?
FR: We've been around a long time and we've gone from being
absolutely worshipped, to being despised. The way I see it, _The
Antidote_, for instance, is an album with very good reviews from
all over -- it's been very hard finding a bad or even a cautious
review for it -- but ultimately Moonspell for us is about
communication and expression, and luckily for us we find people
along the way that need the same kind of 'soothing' through music
that we need. Those are the people that like Moonspell, and all
the rest are just words. They are comments that won't take us
anywhere and have no true bearing on what we do. Listening to
Moonspell is not a question of life or death, but for us being
Moonspell is a question of life or death. Those who complain can
go to the record store and buy the band that they are looking
for.
CoC: In short, if you had to summarize your approach to day-to-day
life, how would you do it?
FR: It's about surviving for me, really. Our lives are split between
moments of glory and moments of absolute anonymous behavior. It's
our task to handle both of these elements, but when it comes to
art and when it comes to Moonspell my life is basically
determined by what I write; to talk to the paper and to share my
thoughts with it. I don't have a set philosophy -- it may change
from one day to the next -- and I don't take one day at a time,
or make big plans for the future. My thought is that there is a
big distinction between living and surviving. I like to be on the
side of the 'living' so to speak and to get there you have to be
out of the side of just 'surviving'.
CoC: Now you obviously pour a lot of yourself into Moonspell's lyrics
-- do you ever feel like you're opening yourself up too much and
that you're almost leaving yourself vulnerable in a way?
FR: No, because Moonspell is a dark, yet transparent band. A record,
or a book, or a piece of art completes itself when it is
communicated. In the beginning we were more elusive and more
controlled and more afraid of people, but nowadays we have
learned the value of communication, which I think is a very
important part of the artistic process as well. So, basically we
want to keep a straight line between what the band is and who we
are as people -- even the fictional stuff that we do; they have
to come from a source, and we have never felt exposed in our
music. It's not like an interview or something like that, where
you leave yourself open to more potentially dangerous exposure.
CoC: With darker and more goth-orientated music like HIM and
Evanescence becoming more popular, do you think that Moonspell
could potentially be taken to the next level commercially as
well?
FR: I don't really know. I mean, if you listen to _The Antidote_,
it's not something we ever really had a concern with. I think
that Moonspell is more deeply rooted in the underground. We were
born in the underground and we will probably stay there. We
probably lack the entertainment factor that more popular bands
have, but we are not here to entertain. We are here to mark
people and we are here to engrave a memory of some sort on
people's minds. We'd like to be remembered more along the lines
of bands like Fields of the Nephilim; as a cult band. I also
don't want limitations in this band -- if I want to write a song
about a German philosopher, then that song is not going to go
into the charts, but I don't care.
CoC: As far as your written works are concerned, will we be seeing
any of this in the future?
FR: I already have a book published in Portugal -- a small poetry
book -- and I am in the process of completing a new one. I have
moved to a bigger publisher now, so I hope that it's something
I'll be able to spend some more time with it in the future. What
I also want to do in the future is to combine both poetry books
that I wrote and to translate them into English and release them
worldwide. But it's not easy at all -- it's even harder than a
record deal! I have too much of a problem with it though, I will
finance and finish it myself.
CoC: And finally, do you have any last words, Fernando?
FR: Thanks to everyone who has supported us on tour so far and to
everyone else, have a taste of _The Antidote_.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
T H E W I L L T O O V E R C O M E
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CoC chats with Klaas Ideberg of Darkane
by: Jackie Smit
Music as a singular entity has within its vast realm essentially two
types of person. On the one hand are those who involve themselves in
the making of music purely because they live for the thrill of fame
and, as the current state of the mainstream proves, are probably not
talented enough to do anything else. Then there are those who live
for their work. They imbibe whatever they do with a sense of passion
and honesty that could ever only have been spawned from the mind of a
person who truly loves their art. As the commercial exploitation of
music gains more and more momentum, these individuals are becoming
increasingly scarce, but -- and perhaps more so in extreme music than
any other -- such luminaries still exist if you look hard enough.
People like Devin Townsend. People like Trey Azagthoth. And, in this
case, people like Klaas Ideberg -- guitarist and primary songwriter
for cyber-thrash masters Darkane. A few short months ago, Klaas was
at a crossroads: confined to a wheelchair and told by doctors that it
was inadvisable to perform again. Ask him about it now and he's
almost alarmingly nonchalant about it, but the fact of the matter is
that most so-called musicians these days would call it a day when
faced with such adversity.
And that, my friends, is precisely why after my talk with Klaas, I
have the pleasure of seeing him rip it up on stage alongside the band
he formed in 1998.
CoC: First up, Klaas: what's new in the Darkane camp at the moment?
Klaas Ideberg: The main news is that we're going to start recording
practically as soon as we get off this tour [the
interview is being conducted in October 2003]. We've
set up our own studio, and we'll probably start
recording in early December, finish in February and
hopefully release toward the end of April, beginning
of May.
CoC: Care to give us an idea of what the new material sounds like?
KI: It sounds a lot like our last three albums: it has the very
complicated things we did in _Insanity_ and it has a lot of the
elements of _Rusted Angel_ and _Expanding Senses_ as well. It'll
probably be a bit more extreme, but we'll see how it develops.
With the pre-production material at least, it is sounding quite
extreme.
CoC: Is Daniel Bergstrand going to working with you as producer again?
KI: No, we were going to record the album with him, but he got stuck
doing the new In Flames records. So, we thought we'd do it
ourselves and then I had a problem with my back and Peter had
problems with his wrists, which caused the recording thing to be
slightly postponed.
CoC: You'll be doing the recording in your own studio then, I take it
-- did you guys build the studio with the primary purpose of
recording Darkane?
KI: Yeah, the studio was already used for _Expanding Senses_: we did
the bass, guitars and choirs there and then we did the drums and
the vocals in the Dug Out Studios. Now we've bought some new
equipment with the money that we got from the record label, so
this should suit all our purposes quite well, I think.
CoC: Will you be recording other bands in your studio?
KI: Probably, but we'll see what happens with this recording. I mean,
if it turns out good, then definitely. We have already had offers
from other bands who want to record with us, after we did
_Expanding Senses_.
CoC: You said that the new album will be more extreme; will you be
bringing any more of the electronic influences into play that
you did in previous records?
KI: Not more, but I think on this album we'll have more of the
classical stuff -- the violins and all that shit. On this album,
we'll have a proper intro the way we did on _Insanity_ and we're
going to use big fucking choirs, hopefully a symphony orchestra.
We'll use this in the songs as well, if possible.
CoC: So, let's move on to the back injury you suffered recently: how
did it happen?
KI: It actually started already in mid-June, after we did the Sweden
Rock Festival and the Hard Rock Festival. A couple of days after
that, when I sat down, my legs hurt like hell -- actually, when I
stood up after sitting down, my legs hurt like shit. Then after a
few minutes of walking it would go away, but it gradually got
worse and worse all through the summer. Then, the last time I was
able to walk properly was the day we played in Wacken -- that was
the last time. In mid- August I had to use crutches to walk and
then when we played in Israel six weeks ago it was acute. So,
when we got home off that tour I was hospitalized, because I
couldn't do shit. I was fucked.
CoC: Do you know what the cause was?
KI: Well, I have a history of having a bad back.
CoC: And you think that being on stage might have aggravated that?
KI: Possibly. The doctors had some thoughts about that. They told me
that I shouldn't be on stage anymore and that even after
rehabilitation it wouldn't be good for me to go back on stage.
But in my mind, it's mainly a case of me having to exercise more
and I haven't had the time to do that for the past few years,
because I have been too busy with the band and work and all that
shit. So I have to do something to build strength in my back,
basically.
CoC: How are you feeling now?
KI: I'm okay now; I can walk and when I've played on this tour so far
I've thrashed around and it's been fine.
CoC: Let's talk about your show in Israel. It's obviously not your
standard tour stop; that must have been quite an experience?
KI: It was fucking great -- the audience were wild!
CoC: Does Darkane have a large following there?
KI: Yeah well, we do now! There was about five to six hundred people
at every show and probably about a hundred people had the album,
but straight after the shows the sales went fucking sky-high, so
now we have a big following. We sell more than HammerFall in
Israel anyway! <laughs>
CoC: How did the tour in Israel come about?
KI: We were invited to go by the distribution company, Raven Music;
they're really nice guys and they asked us to come and play. They
have a couple of shows there every year: they had Rotting Christ
and a couple of other death metal bands there a little while ago.
But it's not a regular thing and the people are still hungry for
music there.
CoC: So how did you experience the country, considering the current
political climate, the ongoing terrorist actions and so on?
KI: Well, especially before we went there, my mother was telling me:
"Don't go there, you'll get blown up." And I said "fuck it". But
apparently the last terrorist action took place about three or
four minutes walking distance from where we lived. And Juergen,
our bass- player, he works in Tel Aviv and his home is close to
the American Embassy, and that's where the last bomb went off. He
even heard the blast and woke up in the middle of the night, saw
the bodies being dragged away and all that shit.
CoC: Considering that the people there live their lives in that sort
of environment every day, would you say that this makes them
perhaps more appreciative of a band like yourselves performing
there?
KI: Could be -- definitely.
CoC: Are you considering any more obscure destinations anytime soon?
KI: Well, we won't do it for this album, but we've had a lot of
interest from South America -- we get mail from there every
fucking day, so we definitely want to go there with the next
album.
CoC: What's the last good album that you bought?
KI: That I bought? Actually the new Machine Head album is pretty good.
CoC: You obviously think it's a step up from _Supercharger_ then?
KI: _Supercharger_ is shit! So many times I tried to like it, but I
can't -- it's fucking boring. But I actually met the guys
yesterday in Paris and they know about us and they like us. So, I
was proud.
CoC: Looking toward the future, where do you plan on taking Darkane?
KI: As far as possible. If we can afford to do things like increase
the visual element of our shows, we will. If the next album does
well, we'd like to do a co-headline tour in the States and in
Europe and then we'll be able to incorporate a lot of new stuff
into our shows and possibly into our music as well.
CoC: What's your profile like in the States at the moment?
KI: We sell quite well -- we're still on an underground label, but we
have a good following and the fans that we have in America are
really, really dedicated and really amazing. And definitely on
the next album we'll be touring America. We have to. We've had
offers, but with the last one especially we got the news too late
and because we work we weren't able to go. It was two or three
weeks before, so it was just impossible.
CoC: What's a typical day on tour with Darkane?
KI: Well, today we woke up very late, because we had a very late show
last night. We set up the basic gear and we're just silly guys.
We're very childish. We play pranks on each other all the time.
We're really into being 'fake-gays' and we play Heavy Metal
Trivial Pursuit all the time.
CoC: What would you say are must-have items when you are on tour?
KI: Beer. I can't live without beer. And that's about it. <laughs>
CoC: Thanks a lot for your time, Klaas. Do you have anything else to
add?
KI: To everybody who reads Chronicles of Chaos: check us out, buy our
albums and come see us live. You won't regret it.
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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!
All Out War - _Condemned to Suffer_ (Victory Records, 2003)
by: Jackie Smit (8.5 out of 10)
It's hard to believe that just a few short years ago, New York's All
Out War were mentioned in similar hushed tones to Hatebreed, a band
who by all accounts have mounted a continual ascent what with Jamie
Jasta now presenting Headbanger's Ball on MTV. In the meantime, All
Out War have remained stationary in the relative obscurity of
underground hardcore. The ultimate measure of any band is inevitably
the music though, and on this level the playing field is decidedly
more even, as _Condemned to Suffer_ is a seething lesson in musical
violence that matches Hatebreed's last effort in every category. For
their third release, All Out War have stepped up the cross-over
element of their music by several notches, and more prevalent than
ever is the tangible influence of albums like _South of Heaven_,
_Game Over_ and _Among the Living_. This proves to be to their
benefit, as they successfully avoid the pitfalls of combining
old-school thrash with hardcore and end up sounding even more
ferocious than they did on 1998's sterling _For Those Who Were
Crucified_. This without a single shadow of a doubt one of the most
barbarically angry records you'll hear for the next ten years.
Contact: http://www.victoryrecords.com
Anathema - _A Natural Disaster_ (Music for Nations, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10)
Hardly a surprise anymore: with this new album, Anathema have again
gone softer and more mainstream than before. _A Natural Disaster_ is
a very pleasant album to chill out after a hard day's work, but it
does little to capture your attention. It features some really good
tracks, flows quite well, but falls short of the mark when it comes
to something written by such a talented band. In other words, overall
it is a more acceptable album than its predecessor, but no more than
half the return to form I had hoped for after the disappointing _A
Fine Day to Exit_. Some tracks on _A Natural Disaster_ are quite good
("Harmonium", "Balance", "Flying"); there's one track where they seem
to rekindle their old urgency but ends up sounding somewhat contrived
("Pulled Under at 2000 Metres a Second"); and others sound too
close to certain mainstream acts for comfort ("Closer", "A Natural
Disaster"). Anathema seem to be going through a lot of inner turmoil
as to their musical direction, resulting in relatively indifferent
albums comprised of some good material and a bunch of passable
tracks. This guess may be totally off the mark, but either way they
need to do better in the future if they are ever to fully regain
their huge musical relevance.
Contact: http://www.anathema.ws
Dark Tranquillity - _Live Damage_ DVD (Century Media, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10)
Dark Tranquillity being one of my favourite bands, I expected nothing
short of sheer brilliance from this, their first DVD. However, never
having seen the band live before, I had to wonder to what extent
the Swedes would be able to reproduce their music's intrinsic
technicality in the live arena. Contrarily to what I expected, I
still have some doubts after watching the DVD: the camera angles
change so quickly you barely have time to figure out what each band
member is doing -- you won't see much detail of the drumming, guitar
playing, or even Mikael Stanne's singing (the latter is also partly
due to his tendency to keep the microphone in front of his face). I
am left wondering whether this was done intentionally in order to
disguise the fact that (at least in my DVD player) the sound
sometimes appears slightly out of synch with the pictures. This in
turn might suggest there was some studio tweaking of the band's
performance, but of course that could also be completely off the mark
and unfair for the band. Either way, the music on the main gig
(played in Krakow, Poland in 2003 during the _Damage Done_ tour)
comes out brilliantly in terms of sound quality and performance, the
latter striking a good balance between competent technicality and
live feeling.
I consider Dark Tranquillity one of the most gifted and enjoyable
bands in metal, and the extensive setlist on this show is simply
superb -- it even includes numerous classics that I assume remain the
copyright of Osmose though nothing from Spinefarm Records' debut
_Skydancer_ or the superb _Of Chaos and Eternal Night_ EP. For the
music, I award this DVD an outstanding 9.5 out of 10, with half a
mark deducted just because a few of the songs don't work so well
live. Due to the garish lighting, less than inspiring surroundings,
excessively frequent changes of camera angle, and below par digital
processing (pixelization occurs every once in a while in my DVD
player and the image quality is less than brilliant), my rating of
the gig recording is a very disappointing 4 out of 10 -- a golden
opportunity laid to waste for the most part.
Two raw bootleg gigs are included as extras. Their sound and picture
quality is of course much lower, but it is still acceptable, turning
them into welcome additions to the DVD -- also thanks to better crowd
reactions than on the main gig. Also included are two average video
clips ("Therein" and "Monochromatic Stains") and an unpretentious
interview with Mikael Stanne, as well as various other goodies in the
shape of band profile, desktop images and more. For the extras, _Live
Damage_ gets a well deserved 8 out of 10. The DVD is sleekly
presented, in spite of an unambitious booklet, while the menus are
excellently decorated, easy to navigate, and accompanied by some
nicely tweaked bits of music. Therefore, the presentation of _Live
Damage_ earns another strong 8 out of 10.
Overall, it's a shame the main gig recording doesn't come across less
convoluted and artificial looking so that one could derive more
enjoyment from the video footage. Apart from that major flaw, this is
a great DVD that should definitely find a place in any extreme metal
collection.
Contact: http://www.darktranquillity.com
Decapitated - _The Negation_ (Earache / Wicked World, 2004)
by: Jackie Smit (9 out of 10)
Let's be honest: anything less than sheer brilliance from
Decapitated's third effort would have been unacceptable. After 2002's
groundbreaking _Nihility_ paved the way for these Polish prodigies
and etched their grim racket into the hearts and minds of anyone and
everyone with an ear for the extreme, underachievement with its
successor was not an option. Thankfully, Decapitated have indeed
delivered the goods tenfold on _The Negation_ -- an album that in its
thirty minute runtime repeatedly defines just why we love extreme
music in the first place. "The Fury" heralds the start of the album
and sets the tone for the record perfectly. Rather than continue to
blast their way through the album's remaining seven tracks however,
Decapitated wisely mix things up: tempo changes, groove, progressive
leads and even the odd spot of experimentation. While clearly
schooled in the ways and traditions of Deicide, Vader and Morbid
Angel, Decapitated have cleverly distilled these influences into a
sound that is completely their own -- barbaric, dynamic and utterly
crushing. The year may still be early, but ladies and gentlemen, the
battle for death metal highlight of 2004 has already begun.
Contact: http://decapitated.cjb.net
Demoncy - _Empire of the Fallen Angel_ (Blood, Fire, Death, 2003)
by: Matthias Noll (8 out of 10)
The fact that _Empire of the Fallen Angel_ features some of the most
drastic changes in style I've ever witnessed initially made it
somewhat difficult to objectively review Demoncy's new album. Their
previous release, _Joined in Darkness_, found them delivering a
totally unique blend of old-school death metal (think Incantation
meets Bolt Thrower) mixed with black metal vocals and a totally
bleak, trance-inducing Burzum-esque approach. Its ritualistic nature
and dense unholy atmosphere provided the ultimate soundtrack for some
proper sacrificing or having the time of your life at the weekly
black mass while wearing a goat mask. _EotFA_ is a total and
unexpected departure from the primitivism of _JiD_ and a trip into
the realms of norse black metal. Comparisons could be made to early
Immortal, although _EotFA_ is more melodic and less frantic, there
are traces of the Swedish style, and with the focus on icy melodies
_Within the Sylvan Realms of Frost_ is the closest but nevertheless
stylistically remote comparison in Demoncy's own discography. With
the goal of giving ever popular topics like winter landscapes,
eternal frost and inhumanly cold ice storms a musical equivalent,
Demoncy venture into dangerous areas and an already over-satisfied
stylistic niche where the norsecore tag is threateningly close.
However, after the initial shock has worn off, I have to testify that
Demoncy have managed the difficult task of re-inventing themselves
and setting foot into such territory with skill and class. Nothing on
_EotFA_ deserves to get labelled as groundbreaking or innovative --
the whole musical concept, the ideas and ingredients are all
familiar -- but Demoncy have simply managed to write an album full
of good and memorable songs which balance brutality, melody and
atmosphere exceptionally well and succeed in appropriately depicting
the grandeur and intensity of their lyrical themes. The sound,
although not perfect, remains good while pleasantly avoiding the
sameness and slickness of European productions. Based on the strength
of tracks like "The Obsidian Age of Ice", these Americans can easily
hold their ground against the top tier of the European competition.
Divine Empire - _Nostradamus_ (Century Media, 2004)
by: Jackie Smit (7 out of 10)
There's something from Divine Empire's third full-length effort that
I can't quite place my finger on. It's technically superb -- well
produced and brilliantly performed. It's fast, aggressive and very
heavy. At times it even showcases moments of such menacing genius
that one could conceivably imagine people like Eric Rutan turning
green with envy. Yet for all its merits, there's something that just
doesn't quite gel. One could point the finger and claim to have heard
everything that Divine Empire offer before, but the crux of what
plagues _Nostradamus_ is a distinct lack of personality; an almost
bizarre accusation considering the pedigree of the band's members
(Malevolent Creation, Paingod et al). But this, combined with the
fact that particularly toward the close of the album Divine Empire
just seem to have grown lazy as far as songwriting is concerned,
makes for an album that falls ever so slightly short of the mark.
_Nostradamus_ is by no means the worst death metal album you'll hear
in your life, but it certainly won't dethrone bands like Morbid Angel
or Nile anytime soon.
Contact: http://www.metalasylum.com/divine/
Exodus - _Tempo of the Damned_ (Nuclear Blast, 2004)
by: Jackie Smit (7 out of 10)
Drug addiction and the harsh reality of sobering up, and the tragic
and untimely loss of a former band member are all just some of the
harrowing experiences that the Bay Area collective known as Exodus
have had to endure along the road to bringing us _Tempo of the
Damned_, the first proper studio output the band have offered up in
nearly eight years. Not surprisingly, the level of expectation that
has been generated around this album is staggering, and in many ways
almost unfairly optimistic, given that these guys have been out of
the game for so long. And so it is that _TotD_ is no _Bonded by
Blood_, nor indeed is it _Fabulous Disaster_. However at the same
time, it is also a step or two above the one-legged dud that was
_Impact Is Immanent_. Under the guidance of producer Andy Sneap,
Exodus have opted to play it safe -- relying on those traits
that once upon a time saw them bask in the same adulation as
Slayer and Anthrax. _TotD_ therefore is chock full of catchy
hooks, splendidly nasty riffs and neck-snapping mid-tempo chugging.
Occasionally though, the band seems almost nervous; trying to
recapture past glories by rehashing ideas from their earlier work.
"Blacklist", for instance, bears more than a mild waft of "Toxic
Waltz". Equally unfortunate is the band's lingering penchant for
coming up with almost cringingly puerile lyrics -- "Shroud of Urine"
being an excellent example. Yet at the end of the album's fifty odd
minute running time, one is still left satisfied, if only for the
unabashed and unrepentant way in which Exodus have always, and will
hopefully continue to present their brand of old- school thrash.
[Matthias: "A new Exodus comes out and all of a sudden 50% of the
individuals that populate the metal-related message boards are
freaking out and claiming that this is a thrash metal masterpiece.
Yeah, Metallica have gone down the drain long ago, Overkill should
bore even those who have stood in union for over a decade these
days, and Charlene Bitchante and the other clowns in Anthrax are in
tears because their latest "product" doesn't sell -- of course it
doesn't: because it's crap, it's the lack of promotion. Especially
in a situation where mallcore is finally on the decline, many people
into real metal are waiting for the resurrection of a thrash metal
messiah -- but Holt/Hunolt's last attempt to postpone a second
career at Burger King surely can't fill those shoes. _Tempo of the
Damned_ (clever choice of an album title -- for a moment I was
foolish enough to believe this was going to be fast) has a few good
tracks and the rest is unfortunately nothing but a bunch of fillers.
The two godawful side-project songs are certainly the low point of
the album, and if someone needs an example of truly atrocious late
'90s sub Machine Head / Pantera crap metal, then just give
"Throwing Down" a spin. Zetro sounds much more aggressive and better
than ever, and it's certainly not his fault that _TotD_ is a
disappointment, but I can vividly imagine Baloff smashing Gary
Holt's skull when asked to sing over such crap. The Andy Sneap
production is almost as annoying: squeaky clean, without bass,
without anything that'd rip and shred like a thrash metal album
should. "Scar Spangled Banner" is good, "Tempo of the Damned" is
also good and reminds me of "The Last Act of Defiance"; the rest is
mediocre to plain boring, and the metal kiddies who claim this is
good thrash metal should get shut down hard, fast and with maximum
violence like a bunch of fucking posers at an Exodus gig in '84/'85.
This band as an entity that is able to create new and exciting
thrash metal ceased to exist after _Impact Is Imminent_, and
nostalgia and wishful thinking can't turn a turd into gold."]
Contact: http://www.exodusattack.com
Faustcoven - _The Halo of Burning Wings_ (Barbarian Wrath, 2003)
by: Matthias Noll (8 out of 10)
Often doomy, meandering and worming onwards like an army of
maggots, Faustcoven conjure the malicious spirit of early Samael and
occasionally the sinister groove of Tom G. Warrior without recycling
his riffs. Although this one-man band (strengthened by a human
session drummer) is from Norway, Faustcoven celebrate a ritualistic
and evil- to-the-bone, pre-second wave version of black metal --
which is not really surprising considering that they are on the
Barbarian Wrath label. While their take on black metal consists of
simply ignoring the existence of albums like _Transylvanian Hunger_
and _De Mysteriis dom Sathanas_, _The Halo of Burning Wings_ is by no
means just an enthusiastic but amateurish homage to the Neanderthal
days of this style. The thick, suffocating guitar sound is certainly
no product of the '80s; the production is unpolished and ripping with
loads of low end, but not of the "recorded in a garbage can with my
cousin's answering machine" variety; and even if Faustcoven are
wearing some of their influences proudly on their sleeves, I'm not
aware of any band in particular that is directly and completely
comparable to. The 40+ minutes of _THoBW_ offer a nice selection
of tracks, some of which are more straightforward and grab you
instantly, whereas others need a few spins to click and contribute
nicely to the longevity of this album. Faustcoven might not appeal to
all the fools who believe that Hank Amarillo invented black metal,
but what I hear is a surprisingly cool, very sinister, very intense
and atmospheric debut record. With a few very minor flaws eliminated
next time (the mastering could be louder, the drum sound a bit more
up-front and punishing) and a similar leap in quality to that of
_THoBW_ compared to the demos, my expectations aren't exactly low for
the next album. Two full songs are available at the Barbarian Wrath
website.
Contact: http://www.barbarianwrath.org
Hell-Born - _Legacy of the Nephilim_ (Conquer Records, 2004)
by: Jackie Smit (6.5 out of 10)
It will surprise very few to learn that Hell-Born features ex-members
of Behemoth. Not only do the two bands share an obvious bond in their
Polish heritage, but both draw an equal amount of inspiration from
the deep-rooted harshness of Vader, Morbid Angel and old-school
thrash. However, where Behemoth have consistently honed their craft
and developed into an increasingly distinct entity, Hell-Born more
often than not remain faceless in a genre that has seen the bar
raised virtually insurmountably in the last two to three years.
Paramount to their shortcomings are their penchant for repeating
themselves, and for the most part almost every song on _Legacy of
the Nephilim_ could have benefited from trimming of at least
ninety seconds off its duration. "Supreme Race" and "Blacklight of
Leviathan" are definitely superb efforts, and there's no arguing that
Hell-Born can play their instruments well, but ultimately this is a
record that will appeal to only the most ardent death metal fan.
Contact: http://www.hell-born.com
Hypocrisy - _The Arrival_ (Nuclear Blast, 2004)
by: Jackie Smit (7 out of 10)
Don't be surprised if 2004 goes down in the annals of history as a
year of sugar-coated, empty promises. With a slew of releases waiting
in the wings all promising returns to form for the bands in question,
one can almost taste the disappointment that is bound to follow.
Alas, such is the case with Hypocrisy's ninth studio release -- a
record which sells itself as a throwback to the promising sounds of
_The Final Chapter_ and _Abducted_, yet subsequently falls short of
the mark. Not that it's a bad effort, by the way; it just seems as
though Peter Tagtren and Co have carved out a comfort zone for
themselves from whence it's all too easy to churn out nine songs,
slap a familiar logo on the box and call it an album. Of course, even
at 50%, Hypocrisy can still come up with a decent tune, as "Slave to
the Parasites" and "War Within" prove with great aplomb. The problem
is that death metal has evolved exponentially since Hypocrisy's
inception in the early nineties, and specifically at this crucial
point in their career, a further exploration of the inventiveness and
experimental spirit of 1999's _Hypocrisy_ would have been very
welcome.
Contact: http://www.hypocrisy.tv
In the Woods... - _Live at the Caledonien Hall_
by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10) (Karmakosmetix / Prophecy, 2003)
I shall skip the eulogy this time around: suffice it to say that if
you like atmospheric metal and haven't heard In the Woods..., then
you seriously need to remedy that situation (and buying _Omnio_ would
be a great first step). About three years after the band broke up, we
finally get the chance to hear _Live at the Caledonien Hall_, a
double disc that contains ItW's final live performance. This gig,
booked after the band had already split up, featured virtually all
band members since the band's inception (only the two vocalists and
the drummer remain the same throughout), as well as most of the songs
they ever wrote. More specifically, it features _Omnio_ in its
entirety, which is a massive bonus.
My anticipation of this album was huge, which brings us to what some
will call nitpicking, and others will call relevant details. First of
all, either due to the guitarists not remaining the same throughout
or the sheer length of the gig, the quality and tightness of the
guitar playing is not as consistent as I would have liked it to be.
This is far from stating that the gig was mediocre -- it's a fine
gig, but in spite of the good sound quality, it's not as near perfect
technically as I hoped. Second, _Heart of the Ages_ is poorly
represented. (The fact that no black metal shrieking can be heard
should be a pretty good example -- no, not even that first
piercing scream in the album.) And finally, there's a bit too much
psychedelic, meandering tracks on the second disc (mostly from the
vinyl EPs), which renders the full live experience a bit stodgy.
Apart from this, it's brilliant. The live _Omnio_ is worth the price
tag on its own, and there's several other good tracks as well -- in
addition to the fact that this should be regarded as a valuable live
document of an excellent band.
If you find the limited edition, you will also get a glimpse of the
work being developed in the fledgling Karmakosmetix record label, to
which some former members of ItW are connected, thanks to a promo CD
that they've thrown in. All in all, _Live at the Caledonien Hall_ is
not quite as rapturous as I hoped, but it is nonetheless very much
worth owning.
Contact: http://www.karmakosmetix.com
Kataklysm - _Serenity in Fire_ (Nuclear Blast, 2004)
by: Jackie Smit (5 out of 10)
There are very few individuals who could have predicted the
evolutionary path that Canada's self-styled purveyors of "northern
hyper-blast" would eventually follow when their now classic _Mystical
Gates of Reincarnation_ EP was released in 1992. You see, aside from
the almost OTT brutality of the music, what made _MGoR_ and its two
immediate successors so special was the fact that in an increasingly
overpopulated genre, Kataklysm had a unique identity -- a sound that
was wholly their own and which made them stand out from among their
peers. These aforementioned records have since and will probably
continue to stand the test of time, and are most certainly a far cry
from the tepid, generic attempt that they now offer as their seventh
studio outing. While Kataklysm's decline has been anything but
sudden, it is a sad thing to see a band strip away virtually every
discernable quality that once defined their music. Piling on clich�
after clich� over the course of the album's 38 minutes, _Serenity in
Fire_ is a tired and confused record that at times finds itself
uncertain of the genre it wants to belong to. Where progression and
diversification have always been something I have praised, the
elements of black and Swedish melodic metal on tracks like "For All
Our Sins" only serve to drag down the effort even further into the
mire of mediocrity. And sure, the record cannot be faulted from a
technical point of view, but this makes Kataklysm's decline seem all
the more tragic.
Contact: http://www.kataklysm.net
Klimt 1918 - _Undressed Momento_ (My Kingdom Music, 2003)
by: Jackie Smit (8 out of 10)
One listen to _Undressed Momento_ should be all it takes to
convince one that had this Italian outfit's moniker rolled off the
tongue with greater ease, they would surely by now have been the
black-clad darlings of the mainstream. With nine songs smacking of
the increasingly popular Lacuna Coil's mid-tempo gothic rock chic,
combined with a generous smattering of Katatonia's most pensive and
thoughtful moments, Klimt 1918 have produced a record that, while not
wholly inventive, manages to impress on several levels -- not least
the beautiful warmth and clarity of the production, which almost
sounds too good for a release as low-key as this. There's also the
band's keen sense of song structure and melody -- a quality which
binds together the impeccable performance of such gems as "Parade of
Adolescence", "We Don't Need No Music" and "Stalingrad Theme". But
what ultimately wins one over on _Undressed Momento_ -- and is indeed
primarily responsible for the record's generous score -- is the depth
of emotion explored throughout the opus, proving that on the rare
occasions that it is done properly, music can be both accessible and
genuinely soulful.
Contact: http://www.klimt1918.com
Mayhem / The Meads of Asphodel - _Freezing Moon, Carnage / Jihad_
by: Pedro Azevedo (7 out of 10) (Supernal Music, 2003)
Originally released in 10" picture vinyl only, this collaboration
between Mayhem and The Meads of Asphodel now receives the compact
disc treatment -- to the delight of those who were so far unable to
find it. This CD version comes with two extra tracks by The Meads of
Asphodel (one of which a Hawkwind cover), meaning their eclectic work
now spans the split's first six cuts, while Mayhem contribute with
just "Freezing Moon" and "Carnage" (advertised as the only studio
recordings by their 'classic' line-up in existence). Considering the
already vastly different musical styles on offer here, this further
imbalance in terms of quantity means the two Mayhem tracks tacked
onto the end of _Jihad_ and its respective bonuses fit about as
comfortably as a dislocated shoulder -- but who said splits ought to
be evenly styled and balanced throughout? Indeed, this contrast
enhances the musty, underground feeling of the Mayhem tracks,
complementing the sophisticated and inventive work by The Meads of
Asphodel. This split effect always works best on vinyl, where you
have two physically separate sides, but not all is lost in converting
it into CD. If you are a Mayhem or The Meads of Asphodel nut and
haven't got this yet, then buy now; otherwise, this is not the best
place to start looking into either band.
Contact: http://www.supernalmusic.com
Opeth - _Lamentations - Live at Shepherd's Bush Empire_ DVD
by: Pedro Azevedo (10 out of 10) (Music for Nations, 2003)
The premise: a one-off show where Opeth would play the entirety of
their tranquil _Damnation_ followed by a selection of heavier songs
from other albums, held at the more than appropriate setting of
Shepherd's Bush Empire. Considering the masterful quality of Opeth's
back catalogue and their proven ability to perform amazing live
renditions of such complex material, I could only expect the very
best from this DVD. Indeed, nearly everything that really counts
seemed to be going in the right direction: crystalline but powerful
sound, outstanding musicianship, fine surroundings and lighting,
highly competent camera work and consistently integrated angle
changes.
However, one thing was not quite ideal in this DVD: the set list.
Perhaps they should have played more of the heavy material rather
than the entirety of _Damnation_, but that's debatable. Instead, my
gripe with the set list is that it seems to have followed one
overwhelming non-musical criteria, surely imposed by their label:
Opeth were only allowed to play tracks from their Music for Nations
albums. This means their Candlelight albums (_Orchid_, _Morningrise_
and _My Arms, Your Hearse_) as well as Peaceville's _Still Life_
were forbidden territory, and therefore several older classics are
conspicuous for their absence. I might be wrong in assuming this, but
it seems too much of a coincidence that they would leave out songs
like "Demon of the Fall" for any reason other than copyright -- even
worse, they had to ignore the audience's enthusiastic chants asking
for that particular song, one that they always play.
Nevertheless, it would be unfair to deduct anything from my rating of
this DVD just because they didn't play every song I wanted to hear
from their discography: that would have been impossible to pack into
a single DVD. The heavy tracks selected for the second half of the
two hour set are all between very good and excellent (the grin on
Akerfeldt's face as he tears into the rapturous final lead of "The
Drapery Falls" is priceless), and the mellow ones from _Damnation_
seemed to shine even more in that particular live setting. Sure, they
could have probably recorded another DVD full of music worth a 10 out
of 10 and not repeat a single track, but that shouldn't make
_Lamentations_ any worse. I award _Lamentations_ an amazing 10 out of
10 for the music, while the gig recording is also a just about
flawless 10 out of 10.
Looking at the extras, all there is to be found is a very
interesting, one hour long documentary about the making of
_Deliverance_ and _Damnation_ -- an 8 out of 10 in this department.
Packaging and presentation remain simple and competent throughout; no
real luxury or great detail, but certainly sober and effective: 7 out
of 10.
Scoring full marks in the most important areas, _Lamentations_ is an
incredibly solid DVD that every other band will be extremely hard
pressed to match. Great atmosphere and superb musicianship, all
impeccably captured on DVD -- a mandatory purchase.
Contact: http://www.opeth.com
Penumbra - _Seclusion_ (Season of Mist, 2003)
by: Aaron McKay (7 out of 10)
From A to Z, this French outfit leaves no stone unturned in their
search to capture the elusive goth metal style. Stemming from a
history stretching back to 1996, then calling themselves Imperatoria,
Penumbra has created an avantgarde blend of metal and musical
landscapes, pushing the reaches of metal in mostly new ways.
Lyrically, this band of seven inconsolable soul-seekers creates vivid
scenes of developed despondency struggling to survive the complexity
of the sacrifice they seem to be developing with the new effort
_Seclusion_. With this, their third full release, Penumbra has
seamlessly refined a sound rich with a mixture of elements not always
evident in the scene today. The scene itself is nearly unclassifiable
when it comes to the material this outfit generates. Lush female
vocals play a pivotal role in Penumbra's goth technique toward
developing the concept of the album -- that being a discordant love
between an angel and a mortal. Enhancing that point further, the deep
male vocals, clean and growlingly edgy both, have a complementary
impression on _Seclusion_'s haunting style. Eight tracks of not less
than nearly four and a half minutes give this recorded experience all
the time it needs to mature its deluxe grandeur. The passive and
aggressive approach found within _Seclusion_ ebb and flow like so
many emotions contained in a schizophrenic mind. For all the
complexity of Penumbra's newest offering, the poignant fact remains
that their opulence of theatrics and choir can only be absorbed in
small doses; think of it as eating raw, white fudge -- no matter the
rich texture, the law of diminishing returns always kicks in.
Contact: http://www.penumbra-band.com
Samael - _Black Trip_ DVD (Century Media, 2003)
by: Quentin Kalis (8 out of 10)
Samael are one of those bands with a patchy career, with material
ranging from derivative and repetitive droning through to fresh and
exciting innovation. Fortunately, this double DVD set concentrates
predominantly on the latter category. The main focus of this DVD are
two full concerts, dating from 1996 and 2002, plus a bootleg of an
early show from 1994. Also included are several promo videos,
interviews and footage from the _Passage_ and _Exodus_ sessions.
The first full concert is that recorded at the Summer Breeze festival
in 2002 in support of the _Eternal_ CD. The sound, although pretty
good, is marred by the thinness of the pre-programmed drums and
keyboards. In comparison, the concert recorded at Krakow, Poland in
1996 sounds much better, as the keyboards and synths have a much
fuller sound -- the quality is comparable to the recent Emperor and
Dimmu Borgir DVDs. Consisting largely of material from the excellent
_Passage_ CD, with a few songs from the only slightly inferior
_Ceremony of Opposites_, this concert is the undisputed highlight of
_Black Trip_ and is in itself nearly sufficient to justify the
purchase of this DVD.
The 1994 show was recorded in the US and was originally a bootleg --
presumably both audio and visual were cleaned up a bit for an
official DVD release, but to be brutally honest, it still looks and
sounds shit. The drums dominate the mix, overriding everything else.
Vorph's vocals are totally indecipherable and the guitar is little
more then a wall of noise. The songs are almost exclusively drawn
from _CoO_, and unless you are very familiar with the material on
that album, it will be impossible to enjoy. On the other hand, there
are many who will appreciate the inclusion of older material
regardless of quality, and I cannot fault its inclusion -- especially
since this DVD is the same price as a single DVD. I was surprised to
notice hardly any material from _Worship Him_ and _Blood Ritual_ was
included in this concert -- no big loss, as these two CDs pale in
comparison to just about anything they have released since then, but
surprising nonetheless. In conclusion, this DVD set is highly
recommended to any who have more then a passing interest in Samael;
but if your favourite Samael album is _Worship Him_, you'll be
wasting your time and money here.
S�nderfall - _�del�ggelse_ (Bleak Cold Productions, 2003)
by: James Montague (7 out of 10)
As a small-time chimp in the reviewing jungle, my mailbox is hardly
overburdened with demos and promos from around the world; thus there
is still excitement to be had at the receipt of said goods. But it's
also fair to say I rarely receive a freebie that goes on to feature
in my regular playlist. Enter S�nderfall, an unsigned Swedish pair
that have thrown themselves into the global black metal orgy with a
unique perspective: the perspective of men who know how to write a
catchy tune. I can't remember the last time I saw a black metal
recording with so many two to three minute tracks. Not that
S�nderfall can't write an epic, atmospheric song: those are the
four-minute marathons that pop up from time to time. The duo
uses simple but effective techniques to great effect, such as
the accelerating drum beat that brings the music to an almighty
crescendo. Most songs feature a handful of traditional second-wave
tremolo riffs and the occasional thrash chord, tastefully arranged
and set against a frantic drumbeat that gets the pulse racing. And
that's all you need, really.
Much as Carpathian Forest did in their prime, S�nderfall have created
an album that is serious, a little grim, yet still fun to listen to.
It's a pity more bands don't realise that you can enjoy your music
without compromising the oh-so-important black metal ethos.
Contact: http://www.sonderfall.nu
The Meads of Asphodel - _Exhuming the Grave of Yeshua_
by: Pedro Azevedo (7.5 out of 10) (Supernal Music, 2003)
I would never have guessed these nutters were British, but there you
go: Britain is where this Far East-tinged metallic extravaganza
titled _Exhuming the Grave of Yeshua_ was conjured. _Exhuming the
Grave of Yeshua_ is one twisted album that fits no predefined genre;
I can't recommend it to any particular type of metal listener, but
somehow I find it likely to be enjoyed by all sorts of people. It
doesn't exactly travel the beaten path of mixing black, death and
doom and coming out with something everyone's supposed to like at
least a little bit. Instead, it starts from a blackened metal base
and goes off in all kinds of musical directions. Before the album is
finished, you are guaranteed to be thrown off a remarkable number of
times, yet likely to crave going back for more. I cannot say I like
everything The Meads of Asphodel have done on _Exhuming the Grave of
Yeshua_, but amidst all the chaos the overall result is impressive.
_Exhuming the Grave of Yeshua_ is a bit like garlic to me: I
have trouble digesting it and my thoughts keep going back to it
afterwards, but it doesn't taste anywhere as bad as even a clove of
that nasty thing. It's a strange disc (as if that wasn't obvious
yet): the sort where it would be pointless to describe some of its
eccentricities just because it would only scratch the surface; the
sort that as you listen you feel successively tempted to dish out
negative and near brilliant ratings. I wish it could all have been
more consistent, but then it would have lost some of its character.
My advice: well worth checking it out for yourself.
Contact: http://www.supernalmusic.com
Various - _Defenders of Metal Volume 1 - The Seduction_
by: Aaron McKay (3.5 out of 10) (Man in Black Music, 2003)
An eighteen track compilation from the relatively new label Man in
Black Music bears more than just a passing resemblance to a "B"
variety sci-fi flick. There is plenty of power metal (or "triumph
metal", as I like to call it) plastered throughout this collection.
Bands participating on this release hail from far and wide: Sweden,
Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Austria, as well as the States.
Melodic hymns, classic metal and fantasy/victory riffs line up end to
end for the nearly seventy-eight minutes this disc spins. Fairly
under-produced, the sound is palatable and the bands offered here are
audibly dedicated to their cause, but wind up absent any real
consistent strain of novelty. A notable change-up on the CD is the
Italian outfit Metharia: this band genuinely communicates feelings on
their track "Riflesso" in their native tongue and the result is
alluring. Other than Metharia, some bright spots on the compilation
beam from the cutting guitar work compliments of the female fronted
band from the UK Mercury Rain, performing "Bride of the Dark", and
the MiB Music flagship outfit, Jesters Moon. Over this last summer, I
reviewed Jesters Moon's self-titled disc for CoC and thoroughly
enjoyed the task. In that write-up, I commented that Jesters Moon
"brewed nostalgia". Their cut on _Defenders of Metal_, "Forbidden",
is every bit the liquid trip down memory lane as their full-length
CD. Other than the always admirable quality of broadening your metal
horizons, _Defenders of Metal_ offers few vehicles in which to get
you near that goal.
Contact: http://www.maninblackmusic.com
Watain - _Casus Luciferi_ (Drakkar Productions, 2004)
by: Matthias Noll (9 out of 10)
Bands of this calibre and within this particular style usually end up
on Nuclear Blast with a watered-down musical concept, a slicker than
slick Abyss production, full-page ads in all major magazines and
artwork done by the guy from Dark Tranquillity. In fact, Watain are
far less necro and primitive than their status, artwork and deal with
Drakkar suggests. Although these Swedes usually get mentioned in the
same breath as the most obscure and usually mainly Darkthrone
inspired bands, Watain are a heavily Dissection influenced outfit.
Without further examination, one might even call them Dissection
clones; but from my point of view (and probably helped by the fact
that I never fully comprehended the incredible amount of praise
bestowed upon _Storm of the Light's Bane_), Watain have surpassed the
band that may have been their main inspiration. _Casus Luciferi_
features eight long, mainly hell-paced and always break-laden songs
with a multitude of layered guitar melodies and harmonic textures --
more so than on their debut album _Rabid Death's Curse_ -- but Watain
still keep an impeccable balance between being melodic, raw, black
and heavy for the full length of this album. Although the truer than
true crowd might not like to hear this, _ Casus Luciferi_ -- not as a
whole, just in a couple of places -- is not all too far away from
some of the heavier and better moments on the latest Dimmu Borgir
records as far as some melodies, bridge sections and build-ups go.
However, the final result is far more convincing, because this band
manages to sound fresh and preserve an underground feeling. They are
able to write more interesting riffs, better and at the same time
neither cheesy nor happy sounding melodic hooks, and songs that
despite being no verse/chorus/verse affairs flow incredibly well and
capture the listener's attention from start to finish. All of this
without ever having to mask a lack of substance by being more pompous
than the Sun King's court -- no keyboards, female vocals or
fad-of-the-day gimmicks like an orchestra, cross dressing or other
assorted faggottry. The enjoyment of the excellent musical content of
_CL_ is enhanced by a natural sounding and nowhere overproduced
production job and -- surprise, surprise-- there's even a clearly
audible bass which takes an active role in some of the compositions.
For Ildjarn fanatics this might be way too commercial, for those with
even the slightest interest in more melodic manifestations of black
metal this is a must have -- and I bet my left testicle that Jon
Noedtveidt is not going to be able to create anything remotely as
good with the reformed Dissection.
Xasthur - _The Funeral of Being_ (Blood, Fire, Death, 2003)
by: Matthias Noll (6.5 out of 10)
For those into ultra-depressive, slow black metal, Xasthur's
_Nocturnal Poisoning_ must certainly have been one the highlights of
recent years. Unfortunately, _The Funeral of Being_ is just more of
the same without ever coming close to the quality of Xasthur's
previous full-length album. This new record is grimmer as far as the
production is concerned, it has an instantly recognizable sound that
is even harsher and colder than before, but it lacks memorable songs
and the same kind of hooks that lurked in the dirges of _Nocturnal
Poisoning_. The tunes obviously come from different recording
sessions and this has the irritating effect of distinct sound
differences between individual tracks. Not only does this disturb the
flow of the album, it also blunts the effect of getting sucked in by
the bleakness and desolation that Xasthur's music emits on a grand
scale. This one- man band deserves praise for its unique sound and
style, but as much as I wanted to like _TFoB_, to my ears it sounds
like a compilation of leftover tracks with inferior quality thrown
together to make a full album's worth of material. In comparison to
_NP_ this is sadly redundant and probably superfluous for everyone
but the most rabid Xasthur lunatics.
Zaraza - _No Paradise to Lose_ (Total Zero Revords, 2003)
by: Adrian Magers (8 out of 10)
When I first popped the press copy I was sent of Zaraza's latest
musical offering, I have to admit I was extremely disappointed. The
music seemed to drag, and was devoid of any driving continuity or
memorable spots (though I'll admit I kind of scanned through the CD,
previewing the first few seconds of a song and/or pressing down the
search button on my quest to find something redeeming). This is the
absolute worst way to experience this band, which after a few listens
I've realized are quite brilliant in their extraordinarily abstract
approach. Calling this ambient music is unfair (they refer to
themselves as "brutal experimental industrial doom death metal" --
better than any description I could muster from my vocabulary).
Although _No Paradise to Lose_ works as good background music, I'd
sooner imagine their eight song album as a mood-setter to a demon-
worshipping ritual involving human sacrifice -- in outer space. In a
word, these guys are bizarre. In two words, wonderfully bizarre. Like
some sort of patchwork creature that's feasted upon the musical
collective of bands as varied as Godflesh, My Dying Bride, Skinny
Puppy, early Mortiis, and Morbid Angel, and chased said bands with an
army of marching soldiers, B-horror movies, and some bad downers.
Zaraza's got plenty of space to move around and experiment within the
sub-sub-subgenre they've implanted into the musical world, and a hell
of a lot of potential. No wonder Gino declared _Slavic Blasphemy_
(the band's debut full length) one of the Top 10 Albums of 1998.
Contact: http://zaraza.doom-metal.com
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Scoring: 5 out of 5 -- A flawless demo
4 out of 5 -- Great piece of work
3 out of 5 -- Good effort
2 out of 5 -- A major overhaul is in order
1 out of 5 -- A career change is advisable
Athela - _Reliance_
by: Jackie Smit (3.5 out of 5)
Athela is an incredibly difficult act to review. On one hand I
want to praise at length the maturity of the Swedish quartet's
songwriting, their jaw-dropping virtuosity and their lush and warm
production. But close your eyes at any point during _Reliance_ and
you would be hard pressed to spot even the slightest difference
between Athela and a certain other Swedish act known to some as
Opeth. Admittedly the band do attest to their desire to follow in
Opeth's already heavily trodden footsteps, but there are limits and
Athela are unfortunately several steps beyond the boundaries of
acceptable emulation. The effort is certainly commendable, but a
marked increase in originality is sorely required for this band to be
anything but an afterthought.
Contact: http://www.athela.com
SIG:AR:TYR - _The Stranger_
by: Adrian Magers (4.5 out of 5)
An absolutely entrancing piece comprised of acoustic guitar driven
atmospheric music, this six song CD is accompanied by a short story
of the same name. The vocals are comprised of spoken word and
narrative bits, but the music is mainly instrumental. The acoustic
guitar is well-played in many different manners (which prevents the
songs from dragging or boring metal listeners). The thought, effort
and emotion put into the whole idea is something more bands should do
(although SIG:AR:TYR is not a band per say, rather a solo project by
a metal musician under the moniker of Daemonskald). I was very happy
that I had the privilege to hear the music sent to me, and go through
the experience of reading the story, the unspoken lyrics in the CD's
booklet, and absorbing the vibe of it all. The closest technical
description of the style employed I can think of is somewhat like Old
Man's Child's occasional acoustic instrumental tracks (except with a
little less obviously Spanish guitar influences) that invokes a mood
in me similar to that that classic Bathory does. Very interesting,
very solid, and extremely well thought out.
The next project for Daemonskald will be "a Viking-metal concept
work, set in the years of the Viking Age, which deals with a quest to
the far northern regions of the world to retrieve an object that will
turn back the advances of Christiandom." The next release will also
offer some electric guitar.
Contact: http://www.sigartyr.com
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W H Y , M R S O U N D E N G I N E E R , W H Y ?
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Hate Eternal, Dying Fetus, Deeds of Flesh and Prejudice
@ The Camden Underworld, London, 7 January 2004
by: Jackie Smit
The first in what turns out to be a catalogue of disappointments
comes early in this evening's proceedings, when an unannounced bill
change sees Belgian death metal newcomers Prejudice standing in for
Severe Torture (who incidentally turned in a very favorable set when
they hit the London Mean Fiddler with Cannibal Corpse last year).
From the off, it is painfully clear that Prejudice wouldn't know an
original idea if it dressed up as a hyena and bit them in the
face, and despite some of their chugging grooves hitting the mark
occasionally, their time on stage ultimately ends up being just
another 25 minutes of my life I won't get back.
Deeds of Flesh are a band who, in the recent resurgence of death
metal, have been left criminally by the wayside, in my opinion.
Having plyed their ultra-brutal trade since 1993, they have quietly
and consistently turned in some underground classics, in particular
with their _Trading Pieces_ and _Mark of the Legion_ albums. With the
sound as atrociously poor as it is tonight however, I'm almost
expecting them to fall on their faces, but such is not the case, as
they turn in a short blistering set that includes "Reduced to Ashes"
and the eponymous "Deeds of Flesh".
Dying Fetus take to the stage shortly after Deeds of Flesh wish the
crowd a good night, and the response is almost overwhelmingly
rapturous, with many punters seemingly here purely to support the New
York bruisers. Instantly noticeable in their sojourn this time round
is the increased confidence possessed by new vocalist Vince Matthews.
Where the last time I saw these guys he was slightly demure and at
times almost unsure of himself, tonight he is the picture of
showmanship and supreme confidence. And with good reason too, for
tonight is truly Dying Fetus' night. With an energetic and aggressive
performance they overcome the increasingly bad sound, and songs like
"Skullfucked" and "Killing on Adrenaline" have never sounded better
or more convincing.
Hate Eternal are a different keg of beer, however. As death metal
continues to evolve and mine even greater depths of technicality and
intricate song structures, so too does the danger increase that
unless a venue provides crystalline sound, the music ends up coming
off as nothing more than a garbled mess. By the time Eric Rutan
and his cohorts take to the stage, the sound has inexplicably
deteriorated to such an extent that if you had to imagine listening
to Hate Eternal on cheap earphones, whilst sitting beside the track
at a drag race, you might have a slight idea of what the band are up
against from the get- go. And no matter how diligent their efforts,
their music is sadly of such a fast and complex nature that songs
like "By His Own Decree", "Servants of the Gods" and "Chants in
Declaration" are almost entirely unrecognizable -- and this is coming
from a man who can rattle off the vast majority of Hate Eternal's
lyrics at a moment's notice. In their favor, Hate Eternal do command
an amazing stage presence, and drummer Derrick Roddy is particularly
impressive as he pulls off some of the most dizzying and precise
beats imaginable. But for the most part, their set is nothing more
than evidence to support the issuing of the death penalty for the
person(s) responsible for tonight's audio atrocity.
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Web Site: http://www.ChroniclesOfChaos.com
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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
bands who send us material, as well as interviews with a select
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End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #70
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included work. All rights reserved.
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