|
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
AURORA
BOREALIS
Northern Lights (Nightsky Productions)
I must admit that American black metal is something I usually approach
with caution, as the United States is the last place I'd expect
to hear such harsh sounds played with any level of competence. However,
this stereotype is occasionally broken. Bands such as Absu, Angel
Corpse, Black Funeral, Judas Iscariot and Black Witchery have made
names for themselves not only in America but abroad as well. To
this prestigious list I must add Aurora Borealis, as their newest
recording 'Northern Lights' is a highly addictive combination of
aggressive blasting and chugging guitars. These guys know how to
play, as AB take the route of stringing together heavy, catchy riffs
instead of building songs around cheap synth segments. However,
these guys aren't by any means traditional black metal; the heaviness
in the riffing indicates a death metal influence with a little thrash
as well, but at its core it's mid-paced to blazingly fast black
metal. Not to mention the superb production on this disc, it's one
of the better jobs I've heard on a black metal recording in quite
some time. Great material, great production, and judging by downright
lethal tracks like "Thrice Told" or "Images In The Nightsky," they
won't have to accomplish much more to get the international recognition
they so richly deserve.
a. wasylyk -9-
Contact: Nightsky Productions, P.O. Box 1327, Clinton, MD 20735-5327
USA
URL: www.auroraborealis.org
DAMAGED
Purified In Pain (Rotten Records)
After the splendid showing the Australian athletes put on at this
year's Olympic Games, it's only fitting that some Aussie bands try
to mirror their fellow mates' success. Damaged (now featuring ex-Brutal
Truth singer Kevin Sharp) comes really close to that Gold medal
level, but the judges had to take away some points for artistic
impression. They display a totally brutal bent of bone crunching
death metal, and by far out-brutalising some of their contemporaries
and even veterans, but ultimately they could not show the judges
enough in the free-style originality part of the program, playing
overused riffs, and relying too much on their technical performance.
Still, Silver isn't bad.
a. ristic -7.5-
DYING FETUS
Destroy The Opposition (Relapse)
Brutal as fuck this most certainly is - it's a Dying Fetus album,
what else would we expect? However, taking Dying Fetus' name as
a guarantee of a certain level of quality, 'Destroy the Opposition'
lacks in certain areas as a follow-up to 1998's 'Killing On Adrenaline'.
The songwriting this time is more relaxed; Dying Fetus allow themselves
to relax and repeat a bit more. That might not have been a bad thing,
but to my ears they haven't quite got the balance right and 'Destroy...'
drags more than it should as a result.
p. schwarz -8-
GARDEN OF SHADOWS
Oracle Moon (Wicked World/Earache)
Oracle Moon is one of those involved listening experiences that
requires extended amounts of time to properly comprehend. Textured
and atmospheric without losing its aggressive edge, Garden Of Shadows'
engrossing song structures shift and contort like a dense radioactive
fog swirling in the midst of a violent hurricane, which provides
a suitable space for the continual re-negotiation of the relationship
between the fractured guitar melodies and the ominous keyboard backgrounds.
The vocals are stereotypical doom/death sepulchral growls, which
are acceptable for this style of music, but also suggest an area
with additional room for development in order to better reflect
the textured nuances of the instruments. There are a few minor problems,
such as the inevitable difficulty of ensuring that the perpetually
shifting song structures avoid awkwardness, but the creativity and
depth invested in each of Garden Of Shadows' lengthy dark metal
epics is such that it is difficult not to be impressed.
t. bengtson -7.5-
HOUWITSER
Embrace Damnation (Displeased)
This is pure 100 per cent death fucking metal! Kicking the brutality
up a notch from their debut 'Death But Not Buried', 'Embrace...'
embodies an expanding musical maturation with a more focused direction
that delegates as much blood as metal. New vocalist Arjaan's guttural
emanations meld perfectly and powerfully to the freight-train momentum
of Houwitser. I find this album to be quite reminiscent of Sinister
(seeing as how it's their side project), yet manages to avoid being
just an outlet for leftovers not good enough to make it in a full
time band. Sinister-ish technicality, break-neck changes and an
unrelenting hammer pounding down makes 'Embrace Damnation' an excellent
offering.
s. wasylyk -8.5-
MY DYING BRIDE
Meisterwerk 1 (Peaceville)
The first of a two CD set to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of
My Dying Bride, all of the tracks for CD #1 were chosen by fans
as being their favourites. Of the eight tracks, Peaceville were
smart enough to include some rare versions, along with an unreleased
track. Demo versions of "Symphonaire Infernus..." and "Grief Of
Age" are culled from their 'Towards The Sinister' demo, both (obviously)
very raw sounding. A remix of "Grace Unhearing" from 'Like Gods
Of The Sun' is included, which ends up being the low point of the
disc as it really doesn't do anything interesting or worthwhile.
"Unreleased Bitterness" serves as the lone unreleased track on the
album, it's basically an under-produced, muddy version of "The Bitterness
& The Bereavement" from 'As The Flower Withers.' Along with album
tracks taken from albums like 'Turn Loose The Swans' and 'The Light
At The End Of The World,' there's a video track to boot ("The Cry
Of Mankind")! Serving as both a collectors item for fans or a great
introduction to first time listeners, 'Meisterwerk 1' is worth a
listen. Expect disc #2 sometime in early 2001.
a. wasylyk -8-
PANZERCHRIST
Soul Collector (Mighty Music)
Panzerchrist have always been a band to do away with the bullshit,
spit on the pleasantries and tend to have a knack of clearing the
room of old people. More so on this record, Panzerchrist are meaner
than ever with the first three tracks espousing some of the harshest
and highly competent fiery whirlwinds in their career. Some segments
on this album bring to mind the super-speed picking of Vader with
the craftiness of Florida's finest. The production is the same stellar
quality you might expect and the memorability is once again up in
the ranks. This is a solid, quality crafted and delivered album.
s. wasylyk -9.5-
SOULLESS
The Darkening Of Days (Independent)
This is easily one of the best releases from an indie black metal
band that most reviewers have ever heard. While the production is
not perfect, it is easily better than 90 per cent of the studio
work of their indie peers, and the compositions go from simplistic
to technical without loosing the listener in transition. Top that
off with some, at times, catchy black metal (yes, catchy), Soulless
just may have a winning formula here. A band that should not be
unknown or unsigned for too long.
a. ristic -8.5-
TRIBES OF NEUROT
60 degrees (Neurot Recordings)
Fans of Tribes of Neurot, an offshoot ambient side project of noise-mongers
Neurosis and their friends, will no doubt want to scope this baby
out. A 10-song offering of some of the band's rarities, found on
numerous compilations and other releases throughout their existence.
A good dose of sounds and ideas here, a definite blueprint of how
their sound has shifted, altered and remained the same over time.
Good for a listen, definitely eerie at times, but for those uninitiated
to the sounds of this band, this could easily pass for soundtrack
music. I'm down with the varied sounds here.
a. bromley -7-
Contact: Neurot Recordings, P.O. Box 410209, San Francisco, CA 94141
USA
URL: http://www.neurotrecordings.com
V/A
Scream Forth Blasphemy - A Tribute To Morbid Angel (Dwell)
Love em' or hate em', Morbid Angel have been honoured with what
sounds like a tribute with some thought put into not only the production
value, but the quality of bands as well. There's no worse way to
pay homage to a band by selecting unknown bands recording tracks
with horrible quality. Dwell have once again outdone themselves
by acquiring a fine selection of well recorded bands, covering a
nice spread from the truly Morbid ones. Mangled start things off
nicely with "Visions From The Darkside" done in buzz/grind fashion,
which is followed by a furious cover by Centurian of "Blasphemy"
played at breakneck speed. Other standouts include Angel Corpse's
cover of "Demon Seed," Diabolic's mind-blowing "Rapture" and Draconis's
very black "Evil Spells." Overall, a well put together tribute with
most bands staying true to the original versions.
s. wasylyk -8.5-
|
