Past Issues: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 BACK ASTARTE Sirens (Avantgarde Music) Beginning as a raw and atmospheric black metal band abiding by strict genre doctrine, including black and white photos of woods, band members' faces decorated in corpse-paint, and so on, Astarte have come a long way. Abandoning practically all of the black metal conventions of the past, Astarte have now decided to come closer to the style of most other bands from Greece and play a melodic form of death metal, with occasional synthesizer breaks and acoustic guitar interludes. Two of the original three girls in Astarte, those that have been around since the beginning, have decided to part ways with band leader Tristessa, and it is not so surprising given the sharp differences that this album has in contrast to earlier recordings. This is a very different band from the Doomed Dark Years period, though, to be honest, given the more traditional and rock 'n' roll-oriented tendencies they've embraced for their last album (Quod Superius Sicut Inferius, which, in my opinion, was Astarte at their very best), it was not such an unpredictable move. Like the last release, evidently a lot of time and effort was put into the final outcome—from the songwriting to the sharp and skilled execution—yet I find that it lacks feeling overall. Similar to the last Rotting Christ album, which I am sure many people would prefer to forget, Sirens is a far more interesting and diverse recording as a whole, though I suppose that is not saying much. For an album based conceptually on the Greek legend of the three that seduced Ulysses and his shipmates, I cannot quite feel the deadly allure intended. There is something missing, and that "something” I fear is vitally important. Sakis from Rotting Christ happens to lend his vocals to one song, "Oceanus Procellarum,” and "The Ring” employs the vocals of Shagrath from Dimmu Borgir in several refrains. The way these two people are displayed on the tray-card of the CD and the song titles brings out the cynicism in me: what is truly the point of their contribution? To increase sales? Whatever it is, Tristessa's Astarte (and this album really is Tristessa's Astarte; it's even mentioned on the front cover) is much less engrossing and memorable than the last few albums. Astarte may now be more "violent and aggressive,” but that was never what made this band unique and special in the first place. <Yury Arkadin> -7- CANVAS SOLARIS Sublimation (Tribunal) Progressive metal, in my mind, is one of the most expressive forms of the metal genre. It evokes emotion, surprise, angst, technicality, and creativeness. That is one of the reasons that Canvas Solaris's full-length debut is making an impression on me. Good ol' progressive metal done right, adding all the complex time signatures and high-velocity instrumentation that makes the genre so enjoyable. It's even more impressive that this is a three-piece, not to mention they are doing this without any vocals. Talk about letting the music do the talking! When I first listened to it, I was getting a lot of memories of Watchtower, Spiral Architect, and Cynic. And like Cynic, they not only push the envelope with the compositions, they also calm it down with lush musical passages that set you on a relaxing musical journey. I must warn you that if you aren't a fan of pure musicality that is found in prog, don't check this out. It is one of those special treats for fans of this style, but I can see a lot of people not getting into it due to it being all over the place musically, and the fact that there are no vocals. But for me, it's been a wild and enjoyable ride. <Liam Savage> -9- CONVERGE You Fail Me (Epitaph) Rearing its ugly head a full three years after the apocalyptic full-length Jane Doe, Converge's You Fail Me is the next progression in this band's twisted take on metalcore. Converge's sound has always been manic and schizophrenic, and these adjectives have been a large part of their success. In 2004, this hyperactivity is still present in the band's sound, but it has become somewhat muted. "Windows,” "In Her Shadows,” "You Fail Me” and a couple of other songs from this 11-track album display a predominance of slower, more meditative tempos, and feature a greater emphasis on experimenting with the dynamic relationship between vocals, guitars, bass and drums. The typical Converge frenzy still lives on tracks such as "Black Cloud” and "Drop Out,” but these all-out sound blasts have become predictable, which is probably why they have adopted a more experimental attitude. <Paul Silbiger> -8- DEAD SOUL TRIBE The January Tree (InsideOut) With a sound and style smoother than most in any metal genre could manage, here comes Dead Soul Tribe for a third release in three years. The prog-metal workings of Devon Graves travel along familiar territory here, music built on Graves' abilities on just about every instrument. Concept came before creation, the idea of a solitary, bare tree facing the winter offering inspiration for the songwriter. Whoa. This is tense. Intense, really. That solitary tree in January, enduring the harsh cold and wind, waiting for the season to change so that growth may begin. Inspiration for music that comments on the state of the world today. "Hate can only create more hate,” sings Graves in the third song "The Love of Hate.” Next track, "Why?” asks questions that some people in the West might not want answered. Thoughtful social and political commentary wrapped in deliberate and dramatic song progressions; full guitar tone, tumbling drums, that hypnotic voice. Watch the evening news, let this one spin and think about it a bit. Extreme metal fans be warned: contains traces of flute. <Xavier Hauk> -8- DEATHCHAIN Deadmeat Disciples (Dynamic Arts) Roar. Swing the chain. Kill a listener. Repeat. Here comes Deathchain, blasting out of your speakers, all death and thrash and everything you could possibly love about what happens when those styles mesh. This disc has been a little slow making its way out of the band's home country, Finland. It was first released there late last year, and is slowly spreading around the globe. So if you've heard the hype, believe it. This is nine tracks of full-throttle metal pulled off with precision. Think Slayer, think The Haunted. No, not a groundbreaking original style, but it's done with skill, and from here you'd think this band has a bright future ahead. And here's one complaint Slayer's heard before: the disc is little on the short side. The band barely manages 30 minutes, but it's all intense enough to singe your eyebrows. Production's pretty good, if a little iffy in spots. Still, it doesn't detract. <X. Hauk> -7.5- DERKETA Goddess of Death (Necroharmonic) It's fitting that New Jersey's Necroharmonic Productions would be the first to put out this compilation of Derketa's recordings, a label best adapted to the band's aesthetic manifesto of old-school, purely traditional, back-to-the-roots death metal. In Derketa's case, a categorization of "old-school death metal” would probably be superfluous, if not condescending and totally false, since this is no modern retro-rehash project of any kind. Derketa has outlived most other death metal bands on the planet, having formed around 1987, and thus playing an active part in the first steps of a new genre. While it is arguable just how much of an influence this (at one time) two-member band had in the long term, or whether they had any influence at all, overshadowed as they were by other bands that formed at around the same time, the material on this disc is distinctive enough, and certainly classic whichever way you put it. It is not every day, after all, that you come across a death metal band from the late 1980s comprised of only female members; namely, Sharon Bascovsky (also in Eviscium) and Terri Heggen (now kicked out of the band). There are 12 tracks on this compilation, two from more recent sessions, recorded in 2001 and 2002, with the oldest reaching all the way back to 1989, rehearsal sessions of considerably rough quality. As one can expect, the sound of these songs is dirty, raw and lo-fi to the extreme, and even the later tracks are the same, but in a way this contributes positively to the morbid and twisted atmosphere of the recording. There is something very gloomy, archaic and not to mention highly nostalgic about these tracks (at least to someone who has experienced this early era, when tape trading was so much in fashion). Without question, fans of more modern, technical and polished death metal, with triggers and sophisticated Sunlight Studio productions, will not be able to grasp or appreciate Derketa's music at all, but as a document of the crude and primitive origins of a style that has evolved immensely over the years, Goddess of Death makes for both an interesting and gratifying collection of old, dusty tracks. It has a historical value, I think, no less than a musical one…although a taste for slow and primitive, low-tuned death metal definitely helps! <Y. Arkadin> -7- DISILLUSION Back To Times Of Splendor (Metal Blade) Disillusion have done something that is hard in the metal industry to accomplish these days—make a memorable debut album that demands repeated listens. It's very interesting to hear how many styles this band draws from (prog being the biggest, thrash, death, power metal) and makes their own. It's always impressive when a band can make their own sound from so many other styles and keep it original, instead of a jumbled mess, which is sometimes the case. I guess most people would liken this to Opeth with its aspect of taking you on a musical journey, but that description wouldn't do this release justice. They seem to stand on their own. In truth, the vocals sound a lot like Anders from In Flames, with the music sometimes taking a nod towards the Colony-era of that group, but done in a progressive tone. The thing about this release is there aren't really any breaks between each song, so it lets the album flow really well and lets each song intertwine. And upon repeated listens, you will discover new things, whether it be new musical notes or certain guitar arrangements. It must be noted though that if you listen to this as background music, you won't truly appreciate all that's going on, as it is that involved. Man, if this is a debut album, imagine how much better and more masterful they'll get with future recordings! <L. Savage> -9- THE ETERNAL The Sombre Light of Isolation (Firebox) The title of The Eternal's debut is not misleading. A rebirth of sorts for the musicians who formerly worked as Melbourne's Cryptal Darkness, The Sombre Light of Isolation is as much goth as it is doom, overwhelmingly brooding either way you look at it. The Eternal brings together an interesting collection of elements for an album that's part Paradise Lost and part Katatonia, and steeped in an over-the-top melodrama more in keeping with Type O Negative or the campiness of Notre Dame. It's all great fun, only I'm not sure it's meant that way. Self-indulgent gloominess abounds from the opening chords to the closing strains, sometimes slowly pleading, as on "Down” or threateningly violent, as on the band's self-titled track. Other song titles give a better indication of the album's depressing emotional stance though—names like "Commemorate the Misery,” "A Cruel Misfortune,” or "All Hope Lost.” Whether sincere or sophisticatedly self-mocking, The Sombre Light of Isolation is the perfect soundtrack for wallowing in despair. <Laura Taylor> -7- EVER SINCE Fight the Elements (Hardebaran) The band Ever Since may sound new to most people, but in truth they have been around since about 1998. Prior to this recording they have put out one demo, Into a Reign of Pain, making this the second official recording of the band. With all of those years behind them, and sticking together all the while, one would reasonably expect something above average, but to think that Fight the Elements is only a demo recording, and the band have yet to be signed anywhere with such eminent talents, is really quite incredible. Much time and strength was evidently exhausted in this creation, from the production to the material itself, a sort of epic, melodic dark metal with a lot of symphonic parts and vocal diversity. There are six members of the band, not including a session violinist and vocalist, making for a large ensemble, on par in some way to Finland's Swallow the Sun. And the two bands do share parallels, from the moods they evoke to the sheer quality of their compositions. Have a listen to "Back To Life,” which is mistakenly printed as the fifth track when it is fourth, and I am sure the reader will agree with this judgment. Or hear the emotionally packed final piece, "A Letter For the Lady Who Haunts My Nights.” The lyrics tend to be sappy and sentimental, as you can tell, but it's the music in the end that ultimately counts, and Ever Since have more going for them in this respect than the majority of unsigned and even signed bands. I look forward to hearing more from them in the future, if only out of curiosity of how they develop further. <Y. Arkadin> -7.5- EVISCIUM Underneath the Buried (Still Dead Productions) Having in its ranks such known figures as Mark Mastro (Rottrevore) and Sharon Bascovsky (Derketa), Eviscium is the latest addition on the East Coast, at least to my knowledge, to the relatively small number of modern death metal bands playing a style that can be best and most easily described as "old-school.” Certainly the technical and advanced sounds of Suffocation, Nile, Gorgasm and the like have little if anything to do with Eviscium's choice of expression, at least not on Underneath the Buried. This is rather a return to the classics, from Carnage and Dismember to Grave, Demigod and the like... and not to forget Rottrevore, whose main man Mark Mastro has written most of the material on this MCD. There are six tracks altogether, split into two separate recording sessions, one from 2003 and the other from 2002. The production and sound do not change much throughout the songs, still the same tearing, corrosive and maximally distorted (quite loud) guitars and deep vocal vomits of Mastro—though, to be fair, the 2002 sessions are more extreme, and the last track has doom metal qualities in addition to death. Taken in perspective, while the compositions are not very complex or involved, these six tracks are far away from easily digestable death metal. This could be on account of the intense, barbed-wire production and vomit vocals of frontman Mastro, which on the initial listen may give the impression of a totally uncontrolled mess. However, with repeated listening, an order arises from amidst the chaos…if but a slight one. I have my doubts that Eviscium will win any eminent marks for originality on Underneath the Buried, as this has all been done before countless times. But, in mind of the fact that they have achieved a sound on this recording that is so different from the norm in 2004, they do tend to separate themselves from many. It is not too common to hear this kind of death metal today, and these aren't simply a bunch of young enthusiasts gathering to make a tribute to their idols; Eviscium have the experience and the underground credentials to really prove their value—they are, literally, the "idols” themselves... <Y. Arkadin> -7- GOATSNAKE Trampled Under Hoof (Southern Lord) Goat, snake. Doom, metal. Really, predictable. Okay, okay… It's a Southern Lord release, so what else can you expect but the sweet sounds of sludge? Guitar travels the usual side road, nice and slow and low, with a tone inspired by a poison which augers the soul. Three new tracks here and two covers. I don't know, maybe this isn't so much a listening experience as it is an endurance test. If you've experienced other doom bands, you've done this. Sorry, guys, even getting Scott Reeder to lay down some of the bass tracks ain't helping. Not terrible by any stretch, just…there. <X. Hauk> -4- GRAVE Fiendish Regression (Century Media) Well, the boys in Grave aren't going to fool you with that title. There is no regression in this disc, but perhaps that attempted deception is what's fiendish about this. A quick check of the credits…yup. There it is. Grave has entered Abyss Studios and has been Tägtgrened. The result is Grave, sans excess dirt. And that's fine. No, really. This band must evolve, and here is the next step in the evolution. You hear that with the opening tune, "Last Journey.” Clean guitar starts us off, and then—BOOM!!!—the expected happens: Grave gets nasty. Ola Lindgren is your host. His death metal croak will guide you through a cemetery shaken to its core by some of the fullest guitar tone put to disc in 2004. The drums are largely what you'd expect, except perhaps for the bass drums. They just feel a little less present this time around, but you're hardly being lulled by the pitter-patter of little feet: these drums do smash. Best track might be "Trial By Fire.” It moves along on a riff with enough groove to satisfy any death 'n' roller. Powered by some great songs, razor-sharp riffing, and fantastic production, this is one of the better death metal discs you're likely to hear all year. Nine new songs, plus a Saint Vitus cover and a remake of "Autopsied.” <X. Hauk> -8- GREATDAYFORUP / SOLACE Blackmarket / Hammerhead split (Underdogma Records) Rare is the day when an instrumental track stands as the best tune on an album, but that is precisely what Solace accomplishes with a brilliant cover of Link Wray's "Rumble.” On "Rumble,” Tommy Southard and new guitarist Justin Skyler build upon a heavied-up and fuzzed-out surf rock motif, letting fly with guitar leads that almost seem to "speak” as they splash radiant colour across the psychedelic soundscape. The fact that "Rumble” emerges as the victor is all the more remarkable given that every nearly every other track on this split album could have been a contender in its absence. Solace shocks with a frantic, hardcore-sounding scorcher by the name of "Cement Stitches” (vocalist Jason sounds psychotically angry; I fear for the unfortunate entities who may be on the receiving end of his rage), while the other Solace cut is a cover of Rare Bird's "Hammerhead” which possesses more of a typical Solace vibe with its groovy riffage and epic chorus hook. Greatdayforup is a relative newcomer, but registers a mighty fine impression with a threefold assault of pure doom-rockin' goodness. Powerful riffs are dusted with the right amount of fuzz, ceaselessly cranking out the thick-necked grooves with moonshine-saturated aggression. From the marching opener "August, Nineteen Seventy-Nine” to the midtempo "More Than Enough” (featuring backing vocals courtesy of Jonah Jenkins, ex-Only Living Witness) to the crushing sludgerock of "Soul of a Motherfucker” (the clear rival to Solace's cover of "Rumble” as best cut on the album), Greatdayforup quickly establishes itself as a rising star on the scene. Two great bands, six great songs…buckle up and enjoy the ride. <Tate Bengtson> -8- INQUINOK Shadows Amongst the Moonlight (self-released) Drawing inspiration from Emperor, mostly, as it seems, in their keyboard use and arrangements, Inquinok mean to invoke the same feelings as the former band, but never quite accomplish their goal, which is little surprising for such a new band. But the result is far from mediocre on this four-song EP, and in fact their sound is on occasion powerful and evocative. Certain artists like to compensate keyboards for guitars, putting all of their resources into either of the instruments, but here the two combine for a healthy synthesis, sometimes tagging along together for the same melody, sometimes exchanging voices for a more complex counterpoint. Not that Inquinok's songs are ever truly complex, but the mood that they carry is interesting, and in places there are strivings for a majestic vibe exiting the realm of mere music per se. I tend to dislike the pitch-shifted vocals of the singer, Krelian, but they are bearable for the most part—they could have been worse! To create such a bombastic sound, and yet to maintain the underground philosophy and outlook—without ripping ideas from Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, or other such bands that have so shamelessly destroyed the spirit of black metal over the years—is becoming rarer today and makes Inquinok a special find. I wish them luck in the future, and hope they stay together to refine and improve their sound, as this recording shows some seeds of promise. <Y. Arkadin> -6.5 JAPANISCHE KAMPFHORSPIELE Fertigmensch (Bastardized) Think of what it'd be like to hear a jumbled musical mess mixed with a five-car pileup on the 401 Highway and you'll get a good idea of what JaKa is trying to do. I'm getting a serious headache listening to this mess. I always appreciate when bands take chances and try to break away from the constrictive mold that metal can find some in, but sometimes they experiment too much, and it just doesn't sound right, which is the case with this release. What exactly does it sound like, you ask? Well, the bio for the band describes their music as "grindpunk,” which is probably the truest dissection of their musicality. But sometimes mixing death, grind, punk, thrash and other styles into a musical stew just makes for a sloppy mess. This is something that tries to sound good with all the breakdowns and odd time signatures, but it just sounds constrictive and messy. The last track is straight-up death with grind meeting Slayer with the solos, which is the most accessible track of the bunch, but it's too late by then to renew my interest. I can definitely see this band as either hailed as geniuses or headache inducing. Well for me, you better pass the Tylenol. <L. Savage> -3- LILITU The Dolores Lesion (The End) With their third full-length album Lilitu have really settled into a sound of their own. Still strongly influenced (as the band will attest) by European melodic metal, The Dolores Lesion is fast-paced, intense and very catchy, but also heavily drenched in keyboards and rife with groove and clean vocals. Though the gloomy tones of Finnish bands like Rapture or HIM are less here prominent than on Memorial, their influence is still at work too, as part of a complex fusion of styles. Although the album begins with a high-velocity attack, thick layers of keyboards quickly dispel any easy characterisations. And while the violent eruptions continue in various forms throughout the record, lush melodies, tight solos, and progressive rovings leave an equally strong impression. The songs themselves, though distinct, don't vary from each other so much as they do within themselves, despite shorter track. Except for a few breaths where the album ventures into more relaxing territory, The Dolores Lesion flies by—just slow enough to enchant, but way too fast for boredom or even much reflection. Because of their compact power, the songs have an air of catchy simplicity, but The Dolores Lesion is more well structured than straightforward. <L. Taylor > -9- NATTEFROST Blood and Vomit (Season of Mist) The last Carpathian Forest CD I liked, for the record, was Through Chasm, Caves and Titan Woods—and the demos I thought were passable as well, though nothing very special. That was 10 years ago, a key time for black metal, when there was still a feeling of fresh excitement going on, something new and strange. Now forward to 2004. Nattefrost, one half of Carpathian Forest (excluding his partner Nordavind), is the new side-project of the man with the same name, "true primitive narrow-minded black metal,” as he likes to call it, and is, like so much Norwegian black metal coming out lately, really not very interesting or memorable at all. It is a kind of black/grind mixture, if you will; very straightforward and to-the-point, perfect for people seeking sounds to hear when drunk and rowdy, music of minimal-to-no subtlety or hidden depth. It is precisely in this sense, or lack thereof, that the songs share similarities with Impaled Nazarene in their early days and maybe Blasphemy—short, sloppy riff assemblages with basic, almost binary, structures. There is a cover track of Beherit, "The Gate of Nanna,” which is less atmospheric than the original; an interesting listen, if only because it sounds so utterly out of place amidst the faster tracks. I don't know what the idea is with "The Art of Spiritual Purification,” which begins with one minute of Nattefrost belching and puking out his lunch. (Would someone actually be offended or shocked by this?) And then there is my personal favourite, "Nattefrost Takes a Piss”—30 seconds of Nattefrost relieving himself in the bathroom while moaning in an ecstatic convulsion. What will be next? A video of Nattefrost sitting on the toilet as bonus DVD footage with the next album? A few of the black metal songs on this release are admittedly catchy, but over half of the disc as a whole is filler, the extractions of body fluids he should have kept to himself. <Y. Arkadin> -3.5- OF INFINITY The Essence of Infinity (Independent) I'm thoroughly impressed by Of Infinity's mesmerizing 3-song CD The Essence Of Infinity, an amazing cauldron of progressive, melodic and dark metal. The San Antonio, Texas-based act have no doubt worked hard to get the ride sound/style out of their music and it shows. The production is ace, the guitar work is remarkable (especially on "Shadow of A Lie") and the rhythm section is potent, but the heart of the band's power comes from lead singer Alessandra Zinicola. She truly is a talented frontwoman, capturing a real spark and edge to her delivery that makes each song come alive. Just listen to "It's Only Forever" and tell me that you don't feel the sincerity of her words. The 3-song CD leaves me wanting more and I can't wait to see what is ahead for Of Infinity - I will definitely be watching. <A. Bromley> -8- URL: www.ofinfinity.com OLD MAN GLOOM Christmas (Tortuga) Like 2000's Seminar records, Christmas is essentially an experiment in soundscaping—its lengthy ambient sections exclude it from the rock/metal category proper. Of course, as fans of the band will know, this doesn't mean there aren't various, appropriately sized segments embedded in this hour-long opus that could be called "songs.” Were these arranged into a single, simple album, they might not work. In other words, if you've no time for slow-building ambience and listening to albums in one, long, relaxed session, you're liable to find Christmas frustrating. On the other hand if the likes of Cult of Luna, Isis, or Neurosis are your thang, you should be well prepped for getting a lot out of this little gem of a sound experience. Mixing sludgy, doomy dirges with delicate acoustic strains and intermingling menacing synth-sounds with eerie samples that paint a picture of a world on the verge of apocalypse, OMG capture the kind of hypnotic vibe that makes such experimental albums work so well. Much more raw in sound—even verging, bizarrely, on sounding at times like black metal, Darkthrone-style—and also generally faster when it's rocking out, Christmas offers fans of the Seminar collection something that sounds fresh despite surface-level similarities, in terms of format. The jury's still out on which transmission from the Simian Alien Defence League is "better,” but Christmas will stand as one of this year's best albums whatever the verdict turns out to be. <Paul Schwarz> -8.5- THE ONE Guardians Inhuman (Total Holocaust) Evidently, Guardians Inhuman is demo material, as there is no way to believe that the songs on this album could have been recorded in a separate session, intended for a professional debut album. The sound quality is so low and the music so lacking in sense and clarity that one can barely tell what is going on. It sounds like one sustained, murky blur of flat guitar noise—with nothing underneath the murk—and this even after repeated listens, in different states of mind, sober, drowsy, alert. So my assumption is that what The One is doing is not very serious, that this is some sort of joke black noise project à la Gonkulator. That would make better sense to me, but the truth is that there is nothing funny about The One to constitute its being a spoof of some kind. In spite of the fact that some tracks ("Thou Art None” and "I Am The One”) are slightly more interesting than others due to a more discernable structure, the majority of these pieces border on flat, insipid buzz crudely put together, perhaps improvised in-studio in a few hours. The guitars have a pleasing raw, droning effect—the only positive thing I could think of about this release, as the drums sound like they were recorded deep underwater (a drum machine, apparently) while the majority of vocals are pitch-shifted howls that offer nothing. All in all, what one can expect on this album is six tracks of mindless, brainless, lo-fi garage black metal not even fit for a demo. Who would possibly want to hear such garbage? <Y. Arkadin> -1- PECCATUM Lost in Reverie (Mnemosyne/The End) Generally more trippy than metallic, Peccatum's fourth release is a tapestry of atmospheres and tonalities. Cool jazzy beats and eerie vocal harmonies swirl around jagged outcroppings of black metal, ebbing for a short time only to flow back in a submerging tide. Lost in Reverie moves in a steady current, slightly sinister even when at its lightest. From a harmless-sounding beginning, opening track "Desolate Ever After” quickly becomes much more threatening. From there Peccatum carry their songs through the more progressive and reflective ("In the Bodiless Heart”) to the extremely aggressive or introspective ("Parasite My Heart” and "Black Star”) and orchestral ("The Banks of This River is Night”), often all within the same piece. When the softness of Lost in Reverie outweighs its malevolence, it could almost be a companion piece to something recent by The Gathering, or Opeth's Damnation, but comparisons rarely hold out for more than a few seconds at a time. Peccatum is hard to pin down or get a grasp on, challenging both the ears and the mind, sometimes even more intriguing than pleasing. <L. Taylor> -8- SARCOMA INC. Torment Rides Forever (Epidemic/Aftermath) Yet another nail in the coffin of true '80s black-thrash, courtesy of Limbonic Art's Daemon. The Scandinavian retro-thrash movement already died a long overdue death in the '90s, and this new platter belongs in the same heap of unnecessary records (mostly by Bewitched and Inferno) waiting to be burned. The bland songwriting and lackluster imagery fail to make any impression whatsoever on the listener; the ferocity and aggression that often comes along with this style is watered-down to such an extent that even turning the volume to ridiculous levels fails to inspire any sensation in this reviewer apart from complete and utter boredom. Granted, Daemon's tormented wail is as spine chilling as ever, and only this saves the album from becoming a complete fiasco. After a great many attempts at scouring the disc for any glimmer of merit, I finally concede that the most thrash-starved of senescent old-school maniacs might find some succor in Daemon's faith in rehashed riffs and inane lyrics. The rest of us are better off remembering him for his superior days in Limbonic Art and Zyklon. <Alvin Wee> -5- SECRETS OF THE MOON Carved In Stigmata Wounds (Lupus Lounge) This band left me utterly spellbound when I heard their Stronghold of the Inviolables CD that came out a few years back. Before that, unknowingly, they captured my budding attention span with the even more obscure sounds of Martyrium. They proved and still prove to capture an essence with their music that was/is occultic, mystical, and not at all traditional within the spectrum of modern black metal or anything in the metal underworld, from what I can glean. Now SotM is back with a much larger label, a better sound, a bigger budget, and possibly a whole new set of faces in the crowd due to the list just rattled off. There are two versions of this release: single or double CD. The bonus CD includes some random tracks not deemed suitable for the full length, especially since most of them sound kind of like an old Katatonia jam session. Good, but not mandatory by any means. The real offering here is proving to be very difficult to review, and at first listen it seemed such a shock that no similarities between this disc and the ‘Stronghold' one came to the fore. Now on repeated listens some of the old band can be recognized and all of the spiraling kaotic Secrets can be absorbed and appreciated. Crowley is still the starting point in many ways and the introduction sets the tone for the whole disc, so don't go skipping it thinking it's fluff. This album is immense. Utterly immense. Compositional complexity tempering the alchemical principles comprising the mind stuff in order to unleash khaos in the mind, to circulate the depths of the abyss into the flesh, to release the vehicle of profanity from the cyclic humiliation. Riffs covering the spectrum, but venturing heavily into the muted, militaristic death metal realms, bass lines that unleash the kundalini spirit only to allow the serpent opportunity to strike at the swirling miasma poised above your skull. Some keyboards are employed, but in ways that should be deemed acceptable, even to the staunchest hater of keys. The album is so intrinsically linked from track to track, yet so incredibly diverse that it defies summary in one lengthy paragraph. This is the ultimate union of the hermetic arts and black metal. <Bane> -9.5- SIGMA DRACONIS De Rervm Natvra (self-released) Yet another black metal band with aspirations at achieving maximal ‘purity' in their art, but this time one of considerable proficiency from Italy. Italy, the home of the infamous Roman Catholic church and its myriad slobbering fanatics (whose leaders should all be lined up and shot mercilessly), is not particularly known for its black metal output, so it is always pleasant in some ways to find a new black metal band from that part of the world. Unfortunately, this one does not present anything singular to separate it from a thousand others playing a similar style, with the exception of the skill of the musicians. But black metal has never been about impressive guitar displays, and neither is Sigma Draconis. The best track is "Nightspell Under a Funeral Storm”... Just what is a "Hypostyle of Darkness”? I don't know, but it's the title of one of their tracks. I suppose the closest relative to this band would be Dark Funeral, although Sigma Draconis is far more raw and unabated in its style than Dark Funeral is today. Taken in perspective, De Rervm Natvra is not bad at all for an unsigned band, for a demo, although they could do well, in my opinion, to concentrate more of their energies on collapsing all of their ideas down into a more compact and tighter result, filtering out superfluity. Sixty minutes for a demo is pretty long…to say the most. <Y. Arkadin> -6.5- SOL NEGRO Hellish Furnace (Lifeless Woods) It always makes me feel warm and cuddly inside when I come across an album with a big upside down cross on the cover, which in other words is a massive "fuck off” to Christianity and Jesus Christ. Sol Negro, who, by my best guess, come from southern California (I have no additional promotional material to base my assumptions upon), play a very dark, slow and obscure kind of black metal which at times goes direct into total doom metal territory, as in the first piece, "Into the Black Vortex.” The guitars have a dirty, heavy sound tuned down to a very low register, which brings allusions easily to Incantation's earlier material and other Californian bands like Sadistic Intent—a mix of black metal, death metal and doom. The vocals are a putrid growl executed by frontman Luis, and are well done. At moments I was reminded of The Chasm, but in a less developed and technical form. I don't know whether this is being sold as a MCD or a full-length album—it totals about 28 minutes—but I find the length to be just right. Minus the rather unnecessary cover of Anarchus, and despite the rather undistinguished sound as a whole, I was pretty amused by Sol Negro's debut album. These four guys are not going to win any awards with Hellish Furnace, but if they at least offend some people with their cover art I will be pleased. <Y. Arkadin> -6- TEXTURES Polars (Listenable) The Netherlands OOR magazine is hailing this as "the best Dutch metal album ever made.” Now that's a pretty strong statement, and while I don't completely agree with it, I think it's right up there with a lot of their homeland's best and brightest. I will say that one of the lowlights for this album (one of the only ones I can find) is that when I first listened to this, all I heard was Meshuggah. However, once delving into this disc more and giving it repeated listens, you'll find it's much more diverse than Meshuggah could ever hope to be. Incorporating a harsh but expressive prog tone to their output really makes this album stand out. Add some At the Gates and Pantera to the mix and it makes for a very potent sound. The good thing about this release is it's not always right in your face. It changes things up with beautiful synth pieces and clean vocals. But don't worry about that not meshing with the hard flow of the album, because it works just fine with it. This album demands repeated listens to fully appreciate it, and I can guess that if you want to enjoy some harsh, yet driven technical metal, this would be a great choice. <L. Savage> -8.5- TORMENTED Combustible (Powermad) After hearing about this band for some two or three years now from Eastern Canada's biggest metal supporter, RDO, I finally have the first, and last, Tormented album in my hands. This band was around from '89 to '96, and after breaking up, they got back together in 2003 for a one-off gig, and due to enough interest from their longtime fans, they decided to record all the leftovers and make a proper release, which I hold in my hands now. As far as influences go, the band is most comparable to the old-school thrash of bands like Slayer, Metallica, and Exodus. And even though the playing is executed very well, and the production is very good, I'm not feeling this release at all. I find it boring and formulaic. I just can't get past the vocals, which don't exude anything generally exciting. The same goes for the guitars. Not anything overly different going on, and nothing to set them apart from any other thrash bands. The five songs at the end of the CD from mainman Larry Leblanc's new band Deadreach are a little more exciting, but sound a little too much like Tormented for my liking. This is a fitting tribute to one of the Maritimes' cult metal bands; however I'm just not there for the ride. <L. Savage> -4- URGEHAL Massive Terrestrial Strike CD/LP (No Colours) Having never heard this band before I was expecting to hear something that sounded very similar to other blazing black metal acts, meaning nondescript. MTS is certainly somewhat of an anomaly in terms of musical styles compared to those represented on the No Colours label, for this album is a serious black thrashing monster with tons of blasting black metal and even some moments reminding one of some of the better power metal bands. A bit of Aura Noir could be found here, but it's not really that thrash laden. The guitar isn't the typical high tone often found in black metal, so this has a bit of a backbone. I'd almost say there is a heavy Deströyer666 feel (commands of "Come on!” is a perfect example), heavy on the riffage, on the heavy fuckin' metal fist banging mania, with the plodding, pounding drums and a thick salient bulldozing bass. Perhaps throw in some of the faster Darkthrone parts, especially those newer albums loaded with thrash elements, and you may have a clearer idea of where this is coming from. Eight tracks with lyrics ranging from the provocative "The Sodomizer” to the tale of a near-death vision in "Image of the Horned King,” to the fictional "what if” about a meteor potentially devastating planet Earth. A well-produced record doing all instruments justice, and an album that hopefully gets this band some more serious recognition. <Bane> -7- WOODTEMPLE The Call From the Pagan Woods (No Colours) Whether intended consciously or not, not only does Woodtemple's second album look almost identical to the first one, but it sounds almost exactly the same also. Again we are presented with an array of dark images of the forest, all in monochrome, and just as well a few very long, very drawn-out tracks, averaging about 12 minutes each, bracketed by the characteristic gloomy and epic intro and outro. Sometimes writers such as myself like to complain about a band drifting off into a totally different tangent on a new album, alienating earlier fans while failing miserably somewhere in the process. And then, of course, there are the times when we complain of the opposite, that a band has done the exact same thing and has gone nowhere. Well, in this case, the ever-fastidious reviewer points to the second condition as the one at issue, an artist stuck in such a rigid, conservative pose that I would not be surprised if Aramath eats the same exact meal every day like a Spartan, probably having listened to Graveland's "Thousand Swords” enough times in the past to play the entire thing backwards on his guitar, half-asleep. The most dramatic differences between this and the debut album that I could find were a slight upgrade in song construction—the final track, "The Realm of Eternal Loneliness,” features fast-picking in addition to the usual power chords—and a cleaner production. Aramath's croaking vocals sound almost comical on The Call... at first and require some getting used to—a new vocalist would be a good idea in the long-term. But perhaps the worst thing of all about Woodtemple is Aramath's lyrics, which are some of the dumbest and most clichéd nonsense I have ever read. It is like they were taken out of the notebook of some brain-damaged elementary school youth with dyslexia, only to be later transcribed here. It is the sort of stuff that a person would be embarrassed to print and show even to his close circle of friends. Since this album does not move the band forward in any way, and neither does it offer anything that was not heard before on the first release (which I incidentally enjoyed, since it sounded fresh then), it is really difficult to recommend this recording to anyone. The songs are above the average, but we've heard it all before. It's time to do something else or try harder next time. <Y. Arkadin> -5.5- WOTAN Carmina Barbarica (Eat Metal) You'd think with the prestige and legend of Italian metal act Wotan over the past decade that they'd have at least four or five albums under their belt, but oddly Carmina Barbarica is their debut. With a glorious and confident attitude, Wotan embarks on their journey of epic metal with crushing results. Think Manowar and Virgin Steele with a lesser production, but just as healthy of a metallic stride as those classic metal acts. Frontman Vanni Ceni commands each song with pride, his heavy cries of heavy metal ringing loud and clear (as on "Hussard De La Mort” and "Wrath of North”). Carmina Barbarica is damn good, most definitely one of those heavy metal albums that die-hard, old-school fans dream about. <A. Bromley> -8-