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KAAMOS
S/t (Candlelight)
The great thing about Swedish act Kaamos is that this band doesn't
hide behind fancy guitar solos, ace production or trendy music.
They play death metal the way it should be played: fast and brutal.
With a nod to the old school heavyweights like Morbid Angel and
Dismember, the Swedish quartet plow through an impressive array
of terrorizing numbers like "Corpus Vermis," "The
Storm Of Coming" and "Doom Of Man." Like a mob hit,
Kaamos get in fast, they do the job and they get out of there. There
is no stalling. Sweden has unleashed a furious beast, so beware
metalheads.
<A. Bromley> -7.5-
KAIPA
Notes From the Past (InsideOut Music)
This is a reunion album of sorts from a Swedish progressive outfit
whose recording history dates back to the mid-’70s. ‘Notes
From the Past’ brings together original members Hans Lundin
(keyboards) and Roine Stolt (guitar; now of The Flower Kings and
Transatlantic) and a crew of guest musos for an 80-minute extravaganza
sure to delight or dismay, depending on your tolerance of sunny
symphonic rock. I myself am predisposed to clasping this stuff to
my heart, but I’m not beyond taking issue with a few elements
of this release—the vocals, for one. Singer Patrik Lundström
has one of those voices that’s so full of joy and childlike
wonder that you want to smack him. The lyrics and melodies that
Lundin has given him to sing initially struck me as annoyingly simplistic,
but they’ve been rendered all the more damnable on subsequent
listens by their catchiness. I’ve woken up on a few mornings
with fragments of several of these songs running through my head.
In any case, Lundström is frequently shunted aside by extended
musical passages on epics such as "Leaving the Horizon"
(nice folk-tinged introduction here) or on the instrumentals "Night-bike-ride
(on Lilac Street)," "Folke’s Final Decision"
and "Morganism" (a showcase for drummer Morgan Ågren).
The interplay between Lundin’s vintage keyboard tones, Stolt’s
soaring fretwork, Ågren’s power drumming, and the nimble
touch of bassist Jonas Reingold (on loan from The Flower Kings)
will engage and enthrall any self-respecting old-school proghead.
Although I was hoping that Kaipa’s music would have a darker
feel more akin to fellow Swedish outfits Landberk and Änglagård,
‘Notes From the Past’ definitely endears itself after
repeated airings.
<R. Hughes> -7-
KMFDM
- Attak
KMFDM - Boots (both Metropolis Records)
The most difficult thing about following KMFDM is that you never
know which band you’re going to get, despite the incarnation,
era, or musical climate. A staple and leader in the industrial underground,
the influential group has returned with probably their most accessible
release yet; however, while it’s easier for the peons to digest,
it in no way makes ‘Attak,’ or the ‘Boots’ EP,
any less of a must-have for collectors. For every happy sounding
"Attak/Reload," there a down, dirty and dirgey "Skurk"
just waiting to follow. If anything, the 11 tracks on Attak show
that the band may now finally feel comfortable enough with themselves
to do whatever they want (as opposed to changing the name to MDFMK
as they did a little while back, or other stunts of notoriety).
‘Attak’ displays a wide enough variety for pseudo-industrial
fans, à la Nine Inch Nails, to latch onto, while still keeping
its pulse based in the underground of the ’80s that made them
("Dirty" being especially good, and reminiscent of Frontline
Assembly). The ‘Boots’ EP is further proof of this, with
three versions of "These Boots Are Made For Walkin’,"
totally sprucing up the originals, and taking the piss out of anything
Nancy Sinatra could do. Harder, edgier, and more inventive to be
sure—all three versions actually. The EP ends with another
delicious pseudo-take from a classic ’60s-era song, this time
from the venerable Beatles, as the hoodlums in KMFDM have taken
"Back In the USSR," and twisted it to "Back In the
USSA." It’s a totally hilarious send-up, with KMFDM placing
themselves in the main role of the song, staking a comeback if you
will. Both worthy additions to any KMFDM-phile.
<A. Ristic> -8, 7.5 –
MEDICATION
s/t (Locomotive Music)
Featuring Whitfield Crane (former vocalist for Ugly Kid Joe and
Life of Agony) and Logan Mader (former guitarist for Machine Head
and Soulfly), Medication is quite dissimilar to any of the previous
bands listed on Crane and Mader’s respective musical résumés.
On Medication’s eponymous five-song debut, which serves as
an advance for the band’s forthcoming full-length, ‘Prince
Valium,’ Medication displays an eerie, emotional heaviness
in which turbulent guitar riffs are contrasted with Crane’s
unique grasp of melody, which can range from scathingly acidic to
plaintively introspective with chameleonic ease, an ability that
has clearly matured during his time singing for Life of Agony. Crane
is particularly evocative on album opener "Something New,"
where the singer laments, "Save me if you want to/Breathing
is hard enough" with an infectious sense of despondency. At
its core, Medication specializes in what could best be described
as moody vexation; a temperamental mixture of restrained angst and
explosive rage that relies upon a dynamic of tense pressure escalating
to the point of critical mass, and then flying into a violent outburst
in which the pent-up anger exceeds its constraints and barriers,
before again withdrawing into its sullen shell. While Medication’s
approach, with its soft-hard dialectic, self-revelatory angst, and
Mader’s concise, rhythmic guitar style, is likely to be lumped
in with nu-metal, the particular alloy which Medication strikes
really belongs to the more general realm of contemporary heavy rock
than consigned to a particular trend, and deserves to be engaged
on that basis.
<T. Bengtson> -8-
Contact: Locomotive Music, 18344 Oxnard St. #101, Tarzana, CA 91356
URL: www.locomotivemusic.com
NEURAXIS
A Passage Into Forlorn (Neoblast Records)
While Neuraxis may not be the most known band out of the Montreal
metal scene (i.e. Cryptopsy, Kataklysm), they are deserved of some
recognition, especially with the triumphantly brutal/technical death
metal offering that they have issued in ‘A Passage Into Forlorn.’
With a slight grinding flow, the Montreal act sets the wheels in
motion with a crazy-ass set of technical death metal that shifts
and sways in multiple directions as the album carries on. These
guys are talented musicians and singer Ian Campbell offers up some
harrowing intense vocals on such tracks as "Virtuosity,"
"The Art Of Sadness" and "That Shatters." Having
been around since 1994, it seems as though the band has found their
own style and metal fans can only rejoice at what Neuraxis delivers.
<br><br>
<A. Bromley> -7-
NITEMARE
Live Carnage (Independent)
Okay, this was more of a spontaneous live recording and it shows.
But that isn’t a bad things. Recorded during the ill-fated
January Marduk trek of North America (where Marduk cancelled their
touring dates and Amon Amarth became official headliners) and with
just a few hours notice to play the show, Nitemare did their best
and delivered the goods with a ferociousness that has become a staple
apart of their live show in Toronto. With only four songs to showcase
here, the band chose the right songs to include here from their
set, especially rousing opener (and new song from forthcoming ‘Nocturnal
Demise’ CD) called "Not Dead Yet" and hard-hitter
"Naked + Dead." A nice offering as we await the release
of the new disc. Lets hope it crushes as much as the band does live.
<A. Bromley> -6.5-
URL: www.angelfire.com/nm/yornitemare
ONE NATION UNDER
s/t (Alveran)
One Nation Under’s debut album begins as an intelligent mix
of fast and slow riffing styles, but quickly turns into a repetitive,
uninspiring dirge by the one-minute mark in track three. Unfortunately,
this five-piece hardcore outfit seem to have fallen into the trap
of over-thinking how to write a good song. Creating compelling hardcore
requires much more than just throwing a bunch of different riffs
together and hoping they will fit. It requires a vision and approach
that, at the moment, these guys simply don’t possess. Marketed
as a "true hardcore band with purpose and passion," One
Nation Under need to spend a lot more time in R&D before they
can live up to the reputation they’re perpetuating on paper.
<P. Silbiger> -3-
PREVENT FALLS
A Newer More Shattered You (Equal Vision)
A great album title, plus excellent CD art direction and packaging
are the high points of ‘A Newer More Shattered You.’ Once
you get into the music, things start falling apart. Though Prevent
Falls offer an interesting blend of punk, pop/punk and emo, they’re
absolutely killing themselves with the out-of-tune child-like vocals
and backing vocals. A dreary guitar tone and some odd chords also
weaken the overall package. Much of the time, these guys are actually
playing some very exciting music. The problem is, they never sound
all that excited about it themselves.
<P. Silbiger> -5-
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