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Past
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BACK
EARTH
Sunn Amps and Smashed Guitars Live (No Quarter)
I should have known what I was getting into by deciphering the album
title a bit more, as well as noticing that the first track ("Ripped
on Fascist Ideas") is 31-plus minutes long. Having never really
heard much from this pioneering ambient metal band, I was glad to
get this reissue of their 1995 opus, with four bonus tracks from
1990. And there is an interesting tidbit about the bonus tracks.
Unless you pay attention to liner notes, you’ll miss the fact
that Kurt Cobain and Kelly Canary do vocals for track four, "Divine
and Bright." If you had this on in the background, you’d
miss it. But it is definitely him. Getting back to real meat and
potatoes of this release, "Ripped on Fascist Ideas" coasts
through a distorted wave of feedback, noise snippets, and by the
end has you at your wit’s end. Too long, too much. I’d
rather listen to Old Man Gloom and their odd musical expeditions
into the unknown. I give respect to these pioneers, but maybe I
just needed to have heard this a few years back to really be tripped
out and all gung-ho about what I was listening to.
<A. Bromley> -5- (-2- if you hate feedback/distortion)
ELVIRA MADIGAN
Witches (Salem 1692 vs. 2001) (North Lore Records)
When one thinks of an avant-garde black metal band one usually pictures
several dark clothed individuals trying to be serious and working
hard to make their music come across as dark and mysterious. Well
tell that to Marcus Hammarstrom who is the sole individual behind
the grand outfit Elvira Madigan. Like the name of the tightrope
walker who Hammarstrom took the band name from, the music of this
band walks many lines of musical creativity, eloquently blending
gothic, epic black metal and avant-garde stylings into an album
of stellar atmosphere and beautifully orchestrated numbers. How
could one man do all of this? Well, the Swedish musician has worked
hard over the years with this band it shows. Passion runs deep here
and as Hammarstrom sates in his bio, ‘Whether metalhead or
not, Elvira Madigan manages to create an immense interest for those
who dare.’ Throughout the album, and especially with my favourite
tracks "Häxor, Maror, Och Vittror" and "Nocturne"),
Hammarstrom worked wonders here and created a journey worth taking
time and time again.
<A. Bromley> -7-
URL: www.elviramadigan.com
ENSLAVEMENT OF BEAUTY
Megalomania (Head Not Found/Voices of Wonder)
While the style of music that may be loosely described as atmospheric
gothic black metal has suffered, on the whole, a disturbingly rapid
descent into the depths of pretentious tedium, every now and then
an album like ‘Megalomania’ emerges that hints at a bit
of magma in that otherwise dormant volcano of a genre. While Enslavement
of Beauty certainly does not risk being the catalyst for a new eruption,
its approach is fairly unique and delivered with skill and conviction.
Perhaps most importantly, Enslavement of Beauty avoids the typical
inclination to overplay the music and needlessly burden it with
superfluous ornamentation that mistakes excess for extravagance.
‘Megalomania’ may not completely transcend such pretensions,
but it does attempt to delimit its musical drama within certain
parameters, thereby preventing scope from outstripping capability.
Enslavement of Beauty’s songs tend to converge on mid-paced
rhythms that feature impressive drum work courtesy of percussion
maestro Asgeir Mickelson (Spiral Architect, drummer on Borknagar’s
‘Quintessence’ and ‘Empiricism’), which provides
a potent foundation for the interplay between the aristocratic regale
of the synthesized symphonics, and the more plebeian pugnacity of
the guitars. The synth does tend to dominate the guitar to an extent
that erodes some of the much-needed rough edges from Enslavement
of Beauty’s sound, but there is still considerable metallic
quality to the music. The vocals sound like a mixture of Dimmu Borgir
and ‘Passage’-era Samael exaggerated to the point of theatricality.
This approach works fine in limited doses, but its excessive melodrama
tends to verge on caricature. While Enslavement of Beauty does advance
its fair share of interesting ideas, at 14 songs this album does
tend to drag in places, which signifies a need for additional energy
to be invested into pushing the limits of the band’s songwriting,
although ‘Megalomania’ remains, on the whole, a fairly
convincing album.
<Tate Bengtson> -7-
ENTHRONED
Armoured Bestial Hell (Blackend Records)
More black metal from the hoary depths of the European continent.
Enthroned produce quick-paced black metal with a definite thrash/speed
metal core. ‘Armoured Bestial Hell’ is in fact a very
satisfying release. The idea on this recording, their fourth so
far, was to introduce diversity into the material, and to overwhelm
any stereotypes of 'middle-of-the-road' black metal. What they produce
is certainly above the black metal status quo, and it is obvious
Enthroned weren't born yesterday: they've been playing and performing
this music for over eight years and it shows. The slow parts on
this album are probably the highpoint of ‘Armoured Bestial
Hell.’ But what I really like and have liked about Enthroned
are the vocals. The vocalist has an unmistakably unique voice (might
be the Belgian accent?). Anyway, nine more tracks and an introduction
of orthodox, yet high quality, black metal... they even have a track
called 'When Hell Freezes Over' so you know you black metal diehards
out there can't go wrong.
<Y. Arkadin> -7-
FLESHCRAWL
Soulskinner (Metal Blade)
Laugh all you want about how they’re German yet sound conspicuously
Swedish, Fleshcrawl are the brand of death metal band this increasingly
grizzled writer can get behind. Fleshcrawl’s sixth salvo and
second for Metal Blade, ‘Soulskinner’ comes nearly two
years after 2000’s excellent ‘As Blood Rains From the
Sky…We Walk the Path of Endless Fire,’ a record that uncooly
exhibited true intensity and true darkness while cryogenically channeling
that old-school Swedish DM vibe, prophetically arriving around the
time mine ears had just about been glazed over by these robots-ticking-away-on-typewriters
times. Precisely, then, lies both the band’s and record’s
charm: out of step they may be with the trends and such, Fleshcrawl
set out on ‘Soulskinner’ to remind both young and old
that the early ’90s Swedish DM scene was/is where it’s
at, a sadly forgotten era where a select few crushed with their
cold-as-ice riffery, burned with a rabidly real intensity, and carried
a heaviness that weighed as much as a tank—and moved as such,
double-bass battery and all. Okay, so they don’t have the requisite
Dan Seagrave cover, but they do have a torched ’n’ scorched
guitar production highly reminiscent of Mr. Sunlight Studios, and
above all, the intensity and urgency of execution (literally!) is
still present and tantamount this late in Fleshcrawl’s career.
Funny, because if there’s one subtle difference between ‘Soulskinner’
and its predecessor, it’s that the aforementioned old-school
Swedish feel sounds even more blood-boilingly authentic here, like
they’re really nailing the sound and style—"old"
as it is—as they, too, get older; then again, they’ve
been at it since the late ’80s, go figure. As I said, funny—or,
at the very least, curious—so perhaps you could argue that
Fleshcrawl continue to inexplicably tinker with the idiom, thusly
delineating differences (again, however subtle) from record to record
much like Dismember (thanklessly) have. It’d be asinine to
expect another ‘Clandestine’ or ‘Indecent and Obscene’
out of these Deutschers, but in this day and age of bore-me-to-bowel-movement
blast-o-rama, Fleshcrawl and their rumbling, roiling, admittedly
human approach to DM speak volumes about how the genre has degenerated
since the onset of triggers and Pro Tools (hence the uncharacteristically
buffered rating), sticking out like the proverbial sore thumb all
the more—and all the better for it, at least from this cock-eyed
perspective. Hail to the true "Death Metal Legion"!
<N. T. Birk> -8-
FU MANCHU
California Crossing (Mammoth/Universal)
When Fu Manchu really started gaining momentum with their anachronistic
identity, they were taking an old sound and making it new. Combining
that fuzzy tube amp sound and Black Sabbath-like riffing with modern
studio techniques and sensibilities, their music was oddly fresh.
Now several albums, EPs and seven-inches into their career, it seems
like Fu Manchu have almost run out of borrowed ideas. While a couple
of their new songs, "Thinkin' Out Loud" and "Squash
That Fly", have head-nodding, swaggering tempos and catchy
choruses, the rest of the album is flat, unoriginal and predictable.
<P. Silbiger> -4-
GODLESS TRUTH
Self Realization (Shindy Productions)
It is good to see death metal music alive and well in Eastern Europe.
You’d think after the flooding of death metal bands from there
in recent years that there would be very few left. Godless Truth
is indeed a death metal act and a good one at that. Full of venomous
vocals, sharp death metal guitar riffs and a mighty rhythm section
Godless Truth epitomize what solid death metal music needs to be:
Tight, fast and extreme sounding. My favourite moments are "Disdain,"
"Isolated Victim" and "Worthless Human Being."
High marks go out to singer Zdenek who puts so much energy into
his vocal lines that it seems like at any moment that he is going
to reach out from your speaker and pull you into the metal maelstrom.
Brutal!
<A. Bromley> -8-
Contact: P.O. Box 53, 771 11 Olomour 1, CZECH REPUBLIC
Contact: Martin Brzobohaty, Sadová 17, Adamov 679 04 CZECH
REPUBLIC
URL: go.to/godlesstruth
THE HAUNTED
Live Rounds In Tokyo (Earache)
Some are liking this idea, others are hating it. I’m referring
to Earache Records re-released the band’s sophomore record
(‘The Haunted Made Me Do It’) in conjunction with this
16-song live album (plus an unreleased studio track, "Eclipse").
If I hadn’t gotten a copy of it to review, I would have bought
this double CD, first because of the slammin’ thrash metal
drive of The Haunted’s sophomore record, and secondly the superb
song selection and execution of the live material. While this may
not be the best-sounding live record ever put on tape (plus Marco
Aro doesn’t have the best live voice), the intensity and weight
of The Haunted’s music (see Jensen’s guitar solos) are
felt in full force. Like a brutal murder unfolding before our eyes,
all we can do is watch as The Haunted choke the life out of Tokyo
with such numbers as "Bury Your Dead," "Choke Hold,"
"In Vein," and album closers "Undead" (yes!)
and "Hate Song." Plus the new song "Eclipse"
is a deeper, growl-like number that races along at breakneck speed!
Who cares if you got ‘The Haunted Made Me Do It’? Buy
this special release and do the ‘metal’ thing and give
your other copy to a friend who doesn’t own it yet.
<A. Bromley> -7.5-
HELLSPAWN
Lords of Eternity (Rotten)
Acceptable black metal that benefits from a cold atmosphere reminiscent
of Mayhem’s ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas,’ and some
well-deployed keyboard atmospheres that provide additional depth.
While the approach does not offer any notable manifestations of
originality, Hellspawn does play with sincerity and dexterity, never
allowing its compositions to devolve into cut-and-paste incoherence.
The general pace is somewhere between frenetic and manic, which
allows a song like "Heirs to the Throne," arguably the
strongest cut with its post-apocalyptic riffing, to build up an
impressive head of steam as it capitalizes upon the band’s
gift for constructing remorselessly cold atmospheres. And, while
there is not a lot of variation in terms of approach and texture,
the band’s songwriting is of sufficient cohesion to at least
keep the ear attuned for the majority of this album. While far from
innovative, ‘Lords of Eternity’ stands as an above-average
slab of black metal that is executed in a solid if unspectacular
fashion. <T. Bengtson> -6-
INTEGRITY
In Contrast of Tomorrow (Victory)
Following on the heels of Integrity’s swan song, ‘Closure,’
‘In Contrast of Tomorrow’ brings together a number of
previously released (but often difficult to find) Integrity songs.
Featuring tracks from the band’s first seven-inch, a split
seven-inch, hidden remixes, and the ‘Those Who Fear Tomorrow’
release, many avid Integrity followers will probably recognize a
number of these songs, but not all of them. ‘In Contrast...’
is a worthwhile addition to every Integrity fan’s music collection,
and an excellent introduction for any other metal or hardcore fan
interested in hearing the most evil-sounding music ever created.
<P. Silbiger> -8-
KHANATE
Khanate (Southern Lord)
It’s times like this, when faced with a record so thoroughly
penetrating as Khanate’s eponymous debut album, that I feel
wholly inept as a critic, daunted by the task of conveying how the
overall vibe overrides anything specific a band does musically,
but here it goes anyway. It’s slow. Sick. Surreal. Abstract.
A claustrophobic aural nightmare. A slo-mo furnace of sounds and
visions. Something you’re forced to confront, yet never want
to pull yourself away from. Much hullabaloo has already been made
about the fact that Khanate are a "supergroup" including
Stephen O’Malley (Burning Witch, Sunn 0))), Thorr’s Hammer),
James Plotkin (OLD, Scorn, Atomsmasher), Tim Wyskida (Blind Idiot
God), and Alan Dubin (OLD), so we’ll bypass that; truly, Khanate
as a musical entity are exceedingly more than some interstellar
meeting of the minds. Guitar-wise, O’Malley’s chafingly
exact tone control is tantamount, more often than not nixing sheer
volume and otherwise-standard notions of "heaviness" for
something eerily restrained and far closer to a skeletal sort of
doom-sludge, while Dubin howls and wails into Khanate’s abyss
about skin coats, rotting skies, and no fuckin’ joy like a
crust-punk coming down from a 48-hour amphetamine binge. All that
accurate? Maybe. Sounds like a mix of anything else? Well, you could
cross Swans’ ‘Cop’ with Disembowelment’s ‘Transcendence
into the Peripheral.’ Getting closer? Fuck no. ‘Khanate’
is THE END, a period mark the size of a solar eclipse: No light
in, no light out, you’re drenched, smothered, and covered in
utter blackness. Again, as a listener, it’s records like this
that make you feel so marginal and miniscule, so direly helpless
when confronted with and overwhelmed by a heaviness that owes more
of its penetrating power to what it leaves out rather than in, rotting
the imagination from the core outward by leaving everything –
and I do mean everything – up to it. Seriously, another 300
words wouldn’t even come remotely close to detailing the genius
of this album, but I’ll guarantee this much: ‘Khanate’
is as deserving of a 9.5 as any other record you’re likely
to find within the pages of U!
<N. T. Birk> -9.5-
KITTIE
Oracle (Artemis)
Love them or hate them, Kittie are a band that are being classified
as ‘heavy music’ in today’s mainstream music scene,
along with Slipknot, Skrape and countless other nu-metal bands.
But while there are dozens upon dozens of crappy new metal bands,
I’d hold Slipknot and Kittie high above that crowd. Slipknot
are purely intense at what they do, while creative and unique. That
is why they succeed and garner my support. Kittie on the other hand
add a unique and dynamic feel to the overall heavy music scene,
and while far from being original throughout, ‘Oracle’
is a much better representation of the band and their sound. Be
sure to check out tracks "Severed," "Pain" and
the title track. Kittie is best when singer/guitarist Morgan Lander
screams her head off while the music goes into this heavy downward
spiral of uncertainty. When the clean vocals are produced, I lose
interest. Not all the time but for the most part it sends me skipping
tracks. Producer GGGarth did a superb job here of capturing a growing
band in the studio. I’m sure this band will be around in a
few years. Who knows, maybe it will go all ‘death metal’
vocals by then? Bonus: A wickedly, intense cover of Pink Floyd’s
"Run Like Hell." Roar!
<A. Bromley> -6-
LOVE IS RED
All That’s Ahead Points to Forever (Recourse)
Following the tranquil flow of opener "Losing You," Love
Is Red opens a floodgate of emotions and hardcore drive as they
lash out at us with searing guitar riffs, tempestuous vocals and
controlled melody. The album by this Missouri hardcore act finds
them running wild with their emotions and letting loose grooves
and heavy-hitting numbers along the way (on songs like "Until
You Came Back" and "Can I Trust You Again?"). While
versatile, the music doesn’t really offer as much creativity
and passion as labelmates Saved By Grace did with their release.
A solid release with some great moments, but in the end it seems
pretty average when you break away the exciting moments within.
<A. Bromley> -6-
MANIPULATED SLAVES
The Legendary Black Jade (Worldchaos Production)
Those of listening to The Legendary Black Jade may not be slaves
(unless you're slaves to metal), but you'll find yourself being
manipulated in all sorts of ways - turning the volume dial up, hitting
repeat on your CD, and being forced to carry around this CD wherever
you go. This CD is a culinary metal stew, with the primary ingredients
being melodic death metal, yet it is garnished with so much more.
Ethereal female vocals are spattered throughout, along with some
rougher, more extreme edges, and yet, the CD never loses its sense
of melody or song structure. The marriage of something old and new
(such as the blatant Iron Maiden riffs on "Woman In The Iron
Mask," coupled with Soilwork style vocals), interlaced with
enough differing elements so as to not throw this group into a pile
with other acts like Children Of Bodom or In Flames, makes The Legendary
Black Jade worthy enough to listen to just for the fresh smack in
the face you will receive.
<Alex Ristic> -8-
MISTELTEIN
Divine.Desecrate.Complete (No Fashion)
It is refreshing to hear a black metal band that knows how to make
use of symphonic elements without sounding overly polished. True,
some of the keyboard work sounds rather hackneyed (on, for example,
the sixth track), but the band’s aggressive approach, heavily
reliant upon razor-sharp mid-paced riffing and perverse snarls,
proves to be quite stirring in its mixture of violence and sublimity.
There are several songs that stand as high points on ‘Divine.Desecrate.Complete,’
most notably the haunting strains of "Completion," where
the band’s piercing riff work intersects with a subtle keyboard
refrain that builds considerable suspense. Misteltein’s strength
emerges most obviously in its aggressive posture, but at a more
cerebral level, in terms of the clarity of its arrangements; it
is evident that the band is an adept songwriting unit. The songs
are not merely linear processions of ideas loosely held together
by transitional techniques of varying quality, but signify a genuine
awareness of how to craft songs that balance fluidity against complexity,
investing each song with unique and memorable elements that distinguish
it from its neighbours. While some sonic parallels may be drawn
with other symphonic black metal bands, particularly Dimmu Borgir,
Misteltein’s sound is more abrasive, its songwriting is pursuing
a different goal, in which the symphonic/melodic inclination is
allocated to a role secondary to the scathing guitar lines and possessed
vocals.
<T. Bengtson> -8-
MONSTROSITY
Enslaving the Masses (Conquest)
It’s difficult to recommend a CD that contains no new material,
no bonus tracks and no special features. Having said that, ‘Enslaving…’
is a rehash of old days gone by with five tracks from the debut
record and seven demo/rehearsal tracks spanning their ‘Horror
Infinity’ demo and their sophomore release, ‘Millennium.’
The first five tracks are, disappointedly, not remastered and the
demo tracks pander to only the die-hard fans of Monstrosity. The
liner notes confess to the "harsh recording" of their
demo, and the band’s dissatisfaction of the recording of their
debut record. These statements neither justify the rerelease of
these songs, nor do they offer any apology for repackaging and shamelessly
reselling this material. The live CD shares the exact same folly
they claim their debut record suffered from: muted guitars and drums
too loud. Which makes their live sound come off as weak, uninspired
and, well, like listening to ‘In Dark Purity,’ but at
half volume. Although Monstrosity has released three decent records,
I can’t help but wonder why they would put out a double CD
of admittedly weakly mixed material. I would sooner see them live,
as this CD only demonstrates the band’s ability to carbon copy
their music in a live setting at about a third of the intensity.
<Steve Wasylyk> -4-
MORK GRYNING
Maelstrom Chaos (No Fashion)
From the ‘Where are they now?’ file comes the new album
‘Maelstrom Chaos’ from brutal/symphonic black metal warriors
Mork Gryning. There has been a long gap since their 1996 album ‘Return
Fire’ (and well-received 1995 debut ‘Tusen år har
gått’) and while some things have changed, a lot of the
band’s black metal-tinged heart and soul for all things fast
and furious remains stronger than ever. And for the first time in
the band’s career, Mork Gryning has managed to finally assemble
a record that I have been fond of. Not to say that their previous
efforts didn’t warrant any attention (they was a lot of press
about them at the time of their inception), I just felt that their
black metal attack seemed rather bland and lacking a real strong
identity. Sure they were part of the growing European black metal
scene in the mid-90s, but their identity didn’t get too far
away from the circle of things. ‘Maelstrom Chaos’ is masterfully
executed, a whirlwind affair of blistering black metal fire and
brimstone and passionate melodic sections that showcases a lot of
hard work, especially with tracks like "Templars," "My
Friends" and the mighty "Forever Unhallowed Preponderance."
An awesome display of anger, creativity and passion run amok.
<A. Bromley> -7.5-
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