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27
PILLS
Restricted (Metalhertz/DEP)
This band kind of makes me wonder. The group sounds like a culmination
of music clichés that are not in style anymore, all molded
into one sound. Included in this mix would be alternative, early
’90s glam, and for that matter, early ’90s rap! Talk about
a mixed bag! The particular rap sound they use doesn’t even
work, as it doesn’t fit into nu-metal. At least if that was
the case, it’d be understandable. Now even though this isn’t
nu-metal, some could compare it to that, but it seems to have a
little more intelligence than that. I just don’t know what
this band is trying to accomplish as far as a sound goes. Sure,
it’s hard rock, but the other ingredients that go into it kind
of make me wonder. This band needs to find out where they want to
head musically, and then they might be able to be taken more seriously,
at least by this reviewer.
<Liam Savage> -2-
THE AGONY SCENE
s/t (Solid State)
Despite working with a smaller talent pool than most labels, Christian
hardcore/metal label Solid State Records has always managed to find
top-notch bands to fill out their roster. The Agony Scene, one of
Solid State’s latest recruits, sounds like another good signing.
The label claims they boast a hardcore backbone and combine it with
North American metal influences such as Pantera and European acts
such as In Flames and The Haunted. Contributing to the dizzying
buzz is the fact that Adam Dutkiewicz, guitar whiz from Killswitch
Engage, is the producer of The Agony Scene’s debut release.
Unfortunately, this buzz is a downer. A cacophony of European-style
guitar picking and fills somehow fails to fill out the sound, adding
confusion instead of cohesion. The songs are missing hooks, or something
distinctive and ownable, so each tune blends into the next. The
only song that does stand out is their cover of The Rolling Stones’
"Paint It Black." However, if a new band is trying to
debut their sound to the world, does it really make sense to include
a cover song on the introductory release?
<Paul Silbiger> -5-
ALL OUT WAR
Condemned To Suffer (Victory)
New York has always seemed to lead the way when it comes to blending
hardcore and metal, and All Out War have been leaders of the latest,
loudest wave. Five years since their last release, these guys have
burst back on the scene with a vengeance. Condemned To Suffer is
a brutal, punishing album filled with cranked-up guitars, frenzied
drumming and tortured yells. Play this one loud and your neighbours
will think that Sturgis moved in next door. While most of the songs
are mid- to fast-tempo, slower-paced breakdowns are scattered throughout
the album, keeping things interesting and upping the intensity.
Perfect for hardcore fans that have Slayer’s Reign In Blood
in their record collection.
<P. Silbiger> -7-
ANATHEMA
A Natural Disaster (MFN)
The work of Anathema never ceases to amaze me. Record after record
the band creates something unique, expanding, and, most importantly,
sincere. Sure, the band has dropped all reference points that they
ever had to the world of metal (save for the blistering, whirlwind
stride of "Pulled Under at 2000 Metres a Second") but
in return the band has tapped into something magical and truly incandescent.
Following up the gorgeous, yet depressing (go figure?) 2001’s
A Fine Day To Exit, the band once again slows things down, offering
a free-flowing and radiant assembly of ideas, most touching being
the expressive "Balance." Other highlights include the
tranquil and heartwarming title track, the "it feels like a
religious experience" of "Are You There?" and "Flying."
No doubt the band is well aware of where things are going and they’re
doing their damnedest to make sure they do it with class and creativity.
A soulful journey into lands of multiple expressions and consequences—just
done with a lot more ambiance and simplicity.
<Adrian Bromley> -9.5-
BERSERK
Rites of Supremacy (Adipocere)
Of all the black metal bands active today in Spain, Berserk, who
have roamed nomadically through the nocturnal forests since 1998,
must be one of the most professional ones, the most well-rounded
and lucid, and this is no small feat bearing in mind the number
of great bands in existence there. There is an undeniable maturity
to their sound, if you pardon this cliché expression, evident
in the song arrangements and in particular the execution. That said,
however, there is also something sorely missing. To groan about
originality in black metal in 2003 is hardly interesting, so I will
simply say that within the traditional framework given here (that
so obviously points to Graveland), there is a terrible shortage
of surprises that works to cripple Berserk’s otherwise triumphant
rampage. This music is of the mid-paced variety, vocals just as
equally mid-ranged, drumming is adequate but not spectacular: "mid-ranged."
In fact, everything about this release is..."mid." With
a name like Berserk one would expect something more berserk and
uncontrollable. Rites of Supremacy is a rather docile affair, relatively
speaking, yet, I will say it again, their aims have obviously been
achieved, the sound and delivery is what can generally be considered
perfect, and the more-or-less traditional route in black metal is
always welcome to this reviewer’s ears. I simply wish the result
could be a bit more unconventional, and/or a bit more daring and
powerful. Is it possible today to be unconventional and still play
good, effective black metal, without aping the back catalogue of
Godflesh or Skinny Puppy? Berserk succeed well in one aspect at
the expense, unfortunately, of some other.
<Yury Arkadin> -7-
BIOMECHANICAL
Eight Moons (Revolver Records)
This release has been two years in the making, and the effort shows.
I’ve always equated this UK outfit with Nevermore for their
ability to marry emotion with progressive songwriting, and to Iced
Earth for their balls-out thrashy aggression. Both elements are
exploited to the full on these nine face-ripping assaults, as the
band shifts between overt hostility and highly technical virtuosity
with a grace that’s astounding to behold. Headbang-inducing
opener "The Awakening" boasts deliciously crunchy riffs
and John K.’s spine-tingling high-strung vocals (think Geoff
Tate on scream mode), not to mention the shockingly dexterous, emotional
guitar solo slipping in midway as perfect counterpoint to the brutality
of the music. Despite the gap between tracks, each song seems to
segue almost perfectly into the next, giving the album a fluidity
that enhances its conceptual nature perfectly. Fans of the band
will remember the familiar "In the Core of Darkness" and
"Do You Know Me" that combine the harshly spat verses
with soaring, unforgettably melodic choruses, and rapidly shifting
guitar textures that traverse the entire spectrum between deft progressive
arpeggios and a bone-crunching pummelling. Other tracks are thrashier
affairs reminiscent of The Dark Saga-era Iced Earth, spiced up infinitely
by rapid variation, tempo changes and numerous technical/progressive
portions. While I favour the direct aggression and easy melody of
the older material, this more contemporary spirit will no doubt
gain the band a horde of newer power-prog fans. Biomechanical stands
without doubt among (above?) many leaders in the scene, and deserve
much more attention than their previous demos have garnered them.
<Alvin Wee> -9-
A FAIL ASSOCIATION / THE CHERRY POINT
Fail Point" 7-inch (Troniks Records)
SUBTITLE / JOHN WIESE / ADLIB / THE CHERRY POINT
Split 7-inch (Troniks Records)
THE CHERRY POINT / JOHN WIESE
Pyramid Suites 7-inch (Troniks Records)
Just three in a slew of 7-inches featuring Phil Blankenship (Lefthandeddecision,
Troniks label) playing as The Cherry Point. A Fail Association presents
a single track of varying metallic screeches and hissing poking
through a wall of white noise. The Cherry Point’s "1983
Forever" is relatively more pitched and structured, and despite
the noise part being somewhat monotonous, the feedback drones carry
this short piece off quite well as a semi-melodic piece of hard
electronics.
On to the next EP: Subtitle stage a set of minimalist dub that stands
out from the more familiar forthcoming acts, coming across as a
surprisingly psychedelic experience. "Karaoke Pulse Camp"
showcases John Wiese in strictly improvisational mode, cutting rapidly
between a myriad of obscure rumblings, metallic bangings and guitar-string
abuse, Sissy Spacek style. Adlib is perhaps the most intriguing
act on this disc, playing a relatively melodic piece of fascinatingly
textured electronic whines and rhythms from a variety of well-chosen
sound sources. The Cherry Point finishes off this satisfying slab
with "1982 Forever," a short semi-melodic paean to noise,
which is enjoyable, if not exactly earth shattering.
The Cherry Point’s latest disc begins with a skin-flaying wall
of caustic noise modulated into razor-sharp points, subsiding occasionally
for ferocious screeches of feedback to assault the senses. Highly
intense and yet subtly textured, this is some of the most aggressive,
Japanese-styled material I’ve heard from The Cherry Point,
showing Blankenship at his violent best. John Wiese’s cut-up
style sits very poorly on this disc, coming across as a mess of
unidentifiable screeches and bleeps looped to infinity with little
sense of purpose. -6- / -8- / -7-
<A. Wee>
THE COLLECTOR’S GUIDE TO HEAVY METAL—VOLUME 1: THE
SEVENTIES
By Martin Popoff
Damn you, Martin Popoff! Just when I thought I was on pace to gather
up as many rarities (and non-rarities on vinyl) you put out yet
another book for me to use as a guide when vinyl hunting. The latest
offering from Popoff is an enriching look at the ’70s and the
versatile onslaught of acts that came out of that era of music.
Found within these pages are tons and tons of bands I never knew
existed until now and some I’ve recently picked up thanks in
part to Popoff’s ratings/comments. As with most of Popoff’s
books you get a vast amount of insight into the albums, interesting
tidbits, and humour. Popoff has turned me on to a lot of great acts
over the past few years, as well as almost made me file for bankruptcy.
Who’d ever thought I’d be scoping out bands like Highway
Robbery, Poobah and Tucky Buzzard? This book is an essential for
fans of the ’70s!
<A. Bromley>
URL: www.martinpopoff.com
BURNT BY THE SUN
The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good (Relapse)
I have been waiting for a long time for the release of a new BBS
album and finally the day has arrived. Much like the previous heavyweight,
2002’s Soundtrack to the Personal Revolution, the new album
is short on manners and HEAVY on aggression. BBS are easily one
of the few newer acts over the last few years (I’d also throw
in label mates Mastodon) that has taken extreme music to a new level.
Not afraid to branch out within reason, the hardcore/noisecore act
has managed to prove versatile in not only bringing rhythmic diversity
into the fold (thanks to the stellar rhythm section of Ted Patterson
and Dave Witte), but also peppering the new offering with cool vocals
patterns (provided by Mike Olender) that resonate well after the
73-minute opus comes to an end. A challenging new release, that
while familiar in many ways, raises the bar a notch as BBS continue
to build the momentum to a feverish pitch with each new album.
<A. Bromley> -7.5-
CONTROL
Misanthrope (L-White Records)
Nothing new or surprising here from Thomas Garrison (Exsanguinate),
but when you’ve attained cult status with your previous two
albums, more of the same is always a good thing. Less overtly violent
than last year’s Algolagnia, the lethal death industrial vibe
still makes its presence felt through the bass-heavy mix. Tracks
take a while to unfold in all their sinister glory, often beginning
with quieter loops of industrial noises or tones before thickening
into a vile stew of sweeping static waves, mind-numbing bass rumblings
and menacing vocals distorted beyond comprehension. An impressive
sense of claustrophobia and dread spreads throughout the album,
the viscous mix of bass drones and gurgles evocative of raped and
strangled bodies lying in putrefying piles, as we’re dragged
on a terrifying trip through a deranged maniac’s twisted mind.
Slight tonal variation is explored on "Sexual Predator"
as some serial killer introduces a relatively clean track of staticky
mid-range drones and miscellaneous clangings and thunderings in
the background, providing a minute of relief before we’re plunged
back into the thick, nauseating mix once again. Garrison has honed
his style to razor-sharp points by now, producing one of the most
commendable albums this year, as anticipated by many.
<A. Wee> -8.5-
THE CROWN
Possessed 13 (Metal Blade)
I’ve heard a lot about the band and always wanted to check
them out, but with the Tomas Lindberg fronted Crowned In Terror
not getting a lot of rave reviews from people I knew when it came
out, I didn’t bother to give them the time of day. So when
I received this CD for review, I figured I’d give it an honest
shot since I heard enough hype about it, and I’m glad I did.
Back with original vocalist Johan Lindstrand, The Crown have delivered
an astonishingly heavy and downright dirty-sounding recording, and
it gives me goose bumps listening to it. Comparison-wise (considering
I have no older material to relate to), this sounds to me like Chaos
A.D.-era Sepultura mixed in with present-day Entombed. Great mix,
and a rollicking sound. This is totally balls-out and in your face,
a feat which is hard to accomplish these days in a heavy music world
that has mostly heard it all at this point. I’m just very impressed
all around. And for die-hard fans of this band, the CD comes with
the Forever Heaven Gone and Forget the Light demos, as well as bonus
tracks on a second CD, in addition to the almost 60 minutes worth
of music on the first CD.
<L. Savage> -8-
DARKNESS
As the Last Star Falls From Heaven / Darkness (Self-released)
Since the material on both of these releases is so similar, I’ve
decided to tackle both of them at once in the same breath—two
ravens with one stone. This unsigned band comes from England and
produces very gloomy, long and monolithic songs, each essentially
composed of no more than two or three riffs played in mantric repetition,
a hysterical, screaming vocalist not far off in style from Paul
C of Thus Defiled, and an equally manic drum machine. The aura of
the music is unmistakably dark and oppressive, reeking in negativity
and an aggressive, obstinate desire to consume all around itself,
like flames slowly swallowing a church during a busy congregation.
Yes, I think it is a safe call to brand Darkness’s music Black
Metal, in capital letters—black metal of the more meditative
and ponderous nature, and certainly original in some way. I have
no song titles so I can only speculate on the names of these attacks,
yet if the title of the first CD is any indication I think they
are not so favorable toward religion and the famous old bearded
man living in the clouds. There are some superb riffs scattered
all over these very long CDs, although what I find troubling with
Darkness is that the pieces that this one man-entity composes all
tend to be extraordinarily similar to one another and sometimes
very much monotonous—not to mention the drum machine can and
does grate on the nerves. Still, the sounds are powerful, the noise
simply sick, and the case, needless to say, made clear. Promising.
<Y. Arkadin> -7-
DATACLAST VS. THE EARWIGS
s/t (Crucial Blast)
Yikes! This is the soundtrack to my musical nightmare; a crazy world
of electronic music and abrasive noise, all culminating in this
very potent scare-tactic. As for Dataclast’s part of this split
album, it consists of Mortician quality (or not so quality depending
on your opinion) vocals, with electronic sounds representing all
instruments (namely guitars and drums). Sure, it’s a total
mess, and it tries its best to offer a sampled grind sound in the
vein of Agoraphobic Nosebleed, but with a scarier tenacity and fevered
intensity. This sound just hits you over the head and continues
to bludgeon. Even though this experimentation is lost on me, I guess
I can at least respect their ferociousness. And regarding The Earwigs
section of this CD (all of six songs as opposed to Dataclast’s
29), it can be basically summed up as what I hear as factory sounds
mixed with a space atmosphere. Kinda trippy, but not enough to keep
me interested. Proceed at your own risk with this CD as it is nothing
to take lightly. But even saying that, I can only take about five
minutes of this "music" before I want to poke out my eyes
with a rusty fork. Enjoy!
<L. Savage> -3-
DISAVOWED
Perceptive Deception (Unique Leader)
Disavowed is one of those bands that your friends tell you are competent,
but a mere clone of the genre’s masters. Disavowed are more
of the speedy type of death metal as opposed to the meaty chunky
style death metal. Frontman Robbe does a nice job of presenting
a strong vocal delivery, but does not try anything adventurous to
break his monotone and monotonous barrage. "Reason Rejected"
shows the band looking a little deeper into their musical writing
with some unique harmony, but the breaks from the mundane on this
record are few and far between. Disavowed are not to be labeled
as an amateur band, but perhaps an idea choice to an amateur listener
who is not interested in the diversity found in so many other underground
acts.
<Steve Wasylyk> -5-
DEVILDRIVER
s/t (Roadrunner)
While working on Coal Chamber’s Dark Days, it occurred to frontman
Dez Fafara that he should be making heavier, meaner, ballsier music.
Around the same time, while sitting in a breakfast diner in California,
a guitarist slipped him a napkin that read "…if you want
to jam, call me," and listed his phone number. Dez made the
call, and DevilDriver was born. Their sound is undeniably metal:
black metal, death metal, classic metal...but, surprisingly, not
nü-metal. Initially, this album is just too heavy to appreciate
each individual song. It all blends together in a frenzy of cranked
up guitars, double-bass drumming and Dez’s over-the-top Cookie
Monster vocals. After repeated listenings, however, the songs begin
to define themselves, and it's the tunes that display a slower,
darker backdrop that really stand out: tracks such as "Cry
For Me Sky," "What Does It Take" and "Meet the
Wretched." While it seems DevilDriver’s intention was
to stay away from any Coal Chamber-like dynamics and just sound
heavy as hell, it is this exact determination that holds this album
back from being even more contagious. A solid, rewarding, pummeling
debut.
<P. Silbiger> -8-
DISGORGE
Consume the Forsaken (Unique Leader)
For their third release, Disgorge have stuck to the formula that
they know best. Consume… does not offer much in the way of
progression from the past two releases, but it does deliver a healthy
dose of grinding technicality. One of the most enjoyable things
about this band is not necessarily the inclusion of trailblazing
or pioneering music, but it’s the radical and disjointed twists
and turns that the music takes. Disgorge stand above a lot of the
typical mid-western death metal with their constant and radical
tempo changes, rather than sitting stagnant at one constant tempo.
Spouting some of the genre’s vilest vocals, a thick yet decipherable
production, Disgorge’s third release is a good release to choke
down upon.
<S. Wasylyk> -7-
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