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Past
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BACK
THE
CHASM - Procession to the Infraworld (Dwell/St. Clair)
I knew The Chasm could
make a record which did them justice on all levels, and here it
is. 'Procession...' is better written than 1998's 'Deathcult...'
release, and the far superior production assures that all The Chasm's
various aspects are, this time, brought out in powerful and balanced
harmony. Their talent for creating death metal which doesn't forsake
melody, but retains the dark atmospheres of Autopsy, Immolation
or early-Entombed, sets them apart from the majority of bands who
can't seem to strike a good balance between the two. Occasional
bouts of Dismember-like solos with melodiously dark atmospheric
power and subtle acoustics, minor scales and Daniel Corchado's (he
of Incantation's 'Diabolical Conquest') despair-ridden vocals all
add up to a crushing and haunting piece of modern death metal.
P. Schwarz -9-
DIABOLICUM - The Grandeur of Hell (Soli Satanae Gloriam)
(Napalm/St. Clair)
I was curious with the moniker "infernal industrial
black metal art" printed on the promo copy. Well, that's a pretty
good description. This is a cold and viscous recording of black
metal in its best form. Utilising a drum machine, the somewhat raw
recording doesn't allow any listener discrimination for this 'unforgivable'
element. The eerie opener "The Grandeur of Hell (Moloch)" sets the
atmosphere for the first track "Chained on Demonwings," a dwindling
affair of blackness and speed. This album is more of a soundtrack
for a descent into Hell. One cannot steer clear of being soul-scorched
after repeated listening. Diabolicum carve their own niche and manage
to differentiate themselves from the horde and therefore should
be acquired. Essential!
Steve Wasylyk -9.5-
THE GATHERING - Superheat: A Live Album (Century Media/St.
Clair)
This is a slide that needs to be reversed. After
releasing magnificent masterpieces in the mid-nineties, The Gathering
released their first lacklustre effort in 'How To Measure A Planet,'
last winter. The record wasn't bad or anything, but it truly wasn't
worthy of the legacy of its predecessors, namely 'Mandylion' and
'Nighttime Birds.' So when you release a live album, guess which
material the band's going to cull most of the tracks from? You guessed
it. Of course, there are classics on here like "On Most Surfaces,"
"Strange Machines," and "Sand And Mercury," but the older material
here is way outnumbered. To top it off, this is not the best live
recording you're ever going to hear. Full marks for the mic work
for Anneke's vocals, but where's the rest of the band? It's almost
as if the sound quality of the drums and guitar have been sacrificed
to make the vocals more omnipresent. And while the vocals are amazing,
the Gathering are actually a group of talented musicians, which
have some excellent music to be heard. Of final complaint, the band
don't sound like they go all out live, either that or their live
engineer really sucks because there's riffs and solo's missing all
over the place on this. Let's just leave this all behind and look
to The Gathering on the next thousand years, and hope they set the
bar higher for themselves next time.
Alex Ristic -4.5-
NAPALM DEATH - Leaders Not Followers (Dream Catcher/PHD)
The excommunication of death metal bands from Earache
continues, with Napalm Death being the newest casualty to the list.
Although from what's been made public, the two didn't get along,
so I'm sure both parties are happy to be rid of each other. Napalm's
first non-Earache release is 'Leaders Not Followers,' a covers EP
containing a selection of bands who had an influence on the U.K.
band. Bands like Repulsion ("Maggots In Your Coffin") and Dead Kennedy's
(a newly re-recorded "Nazi Punks Fuck Off"), along with four others
which are played close to the original with that extra Napalm punch.
My interest in the band has dissipated over the years, but they
can still arouse attention in me from time to time and here's a
clear example of when. I can only hope that their next full length
will contain quality material, as were the covers they chose on
'Leaders Not Followers.'
Adam Wasylyk -7.5-
OLD FUNERAL - The Older Ones (Hammerheart/PHD)
I tried to hate this album, but failed, miserably.
It would be way too typical to say that this is a great album just
because Varg and Abbath play in Old Funeral. But listening to it,
I could find absolutely nothing wrong with it to say the least.
It's fast! It's brutal! It's pure fucking Armageddon! It's absolutely
fucking brilliant! The cold and mechanical drumming hammers a hole
right into your head, while the guitar and bass is of the grimmest
quality I have heard in a long, long time. Music spawned from fist-clenching
immaturity is nothing short of true and evil to the brim! This album
cements my faith in Abbath and Varg for being/having been true black
metal bastards (though of course this is death metal - "it's quite
obvious really")!
Jessica -9.99-
SUNDOWN - Glimmer (Century Media/St. Clair)
I dunno what has gone on here with Mathias Lodmalm
(ringleader of once grand gothic-tinged metal rockers Cemetary)
and his new project Sundown, but I'm thinking there is a bit too
much toying with gadgets and samples, and not enough emphasis on
sound and quality. An okay listen for half of the disc (sounding
somewhere between Stabbing Westward and Depeche Mode), but it pales
in comparison to the last outing 'Design 19,' which was a tad hard
to swallow seeing the groundbreaking work Lodmalm had done with
Cemetary. Note: Good news through the grapevine. Lodmalm has reactivated
Cemetary, now called Cemetary1213. Hopefully the future is brighter
than this "glimmer" of musicianship.
Adrian Bromley -4-
VASSAGO - Knights From Hell (No Fashion/PHD)
Bold claims generally ride on the back of rather
inadequate musical achievements, and Vassago propagate the rule,
rather than provide an exception to it. Armed with a barrage of
basic and traditional death metal riffs and screeching satanic-centred
war cries in stereotyped black metal tradition, Vassago pound out
30 minutes of furious metal closely akin to Deathwitch and their
regressively minded peers. It's intense and even impressively so
at varied points, but what I get out of Vassago I can get out of
Possessed or Slayer, multiplied by tenfold, in half the time, and
with some captivating atmosphere thrown in free of charge.
P. Schwarz -6-
VIKING CROWN - Unorthodox Steps Of Ritual (Baphomet)
Phil Anselmo used to do a lot of recordings for himself
back in the day, simply stuff to bring on the road to listen to
while on tour with Pantera. It wouldn't surprise me that this was
one of his many solo recordings. Recorded way back in 1994, and
now since he has come under his guise as Anton Crowley and has kind
of incorporated himself within the black metal scene, his buddy
Killjoy decides to release these rehearsal tapes. The verdict? Well
the first half of the album actually came as a surprise; some pretty
warped and abstract like pieces, psychedelic at times and obviously
pretty rough sounding. Then it just wallows in a bunch of noise,
in a Beherit-like style; static and distorted screams and wails
brought to the max. Could be seen as a cash in for the purist Pantera
fans and for the black metal fan, really the majority of this sounds
like a trite demo. Just stick to the first four Burzum albums (godly!)
and you'll be safe.
Chris Bruni -6-
WICKED INNOCENCE - Worship (Headfucker)
This is indeed an album of contrast! 'Worship' projects
the ideas from their debut album 'Omnipotence' and takes them to
dizzying heights. I fear previous fans might steer clear of this
album due to its vast variety of clean vocal styles. But one only
needs to hear the first track to "feel" how heavy this album is.
The trademark discordant riffing, the obscure, disjoined off-time
rhythms and the clean vocal/guttural sewer vocal trade-offs are
as clean and precise as any band could hope to get. In some ways
it's progressive, and in others it's just down and dirty. As being
a connoisseur of alcoholic ales, two things are needed. Time and
the development of an acquired taste. If you've heard their debut,
imagine heavier, thicker and more diversity vocally. This is different,
it's potentially risky...but it paid off.
Steve Wasylyk -8.5-
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