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Past
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BACK
ACHERON
- Anti-God, Anti-Christ (Moribund)
Having been previously uninterested by previous Acheron samplings,
I found myself enjoying this release. Acheron can be found somewhere
in the vein of old-school death metal playing exclusively slow to
mid paced material. There is a tinge of black atmosphere thanks
to the keys which gives this album a dark and mystical feeling.
Every second song is a short spoken word interlude based upon Nietzsche's
writings that best represent the beliefs of the Church of Satan.
Standout tracks include "Fuck The Ways of Christ," "Shemhamforash"
and the Impaled Nazarene-ish "Total War". I would recommend Acheron's
newest album over this one, but for the old school diehards, this
is a solid release.
Steve Wasylyk
CRACK UP - Heads Will Roll (Nuclear Blast/PHD)
Crack Up's second LP (and debut for NBA) called Up
From the Ground really stood out last year as one of the better
unknown releases. It was different, done at a time when everyone
was doing the same thing. With an Entombed-style groove and a definite
old school punk rock feel meshed with thrashing bits n' pieces,
Germany's Crack Up lay it out on the table for us with Heads Will
Roll equally. This is a release that definitely continues on where
the band left off. While some of the material here gets kind of
stale after a while (a lot of repetitive styles going on), for the
most part Heads Will Roll does the job it's supposed to do. Standout
tracks: "Harder They Fall" and "In A Hole." Fans of Entombed, Soulquake
System and Transport League take note.
Adrian Bromley
ENTOMBED - Same Difference (Music for Nations/PHD)
Everyone knows that Entombed aren't happy with staying
with a particular sound, their sound progresses and grows as they
do. But who would have guessed that they'd sound so pathetic or
disgraceful as this! It's not hard to see how they ended up at this
point. The departure from recording at Sunlight Studios beckoned
a change that fans will most certainly feel the wrath of. And as
every (former?) Entombed fan knows, Nicke Andersson, drummer and
main songwriter for the band on albums past, left the band. Who
knew that he was the last member in the band that held the ideals
on what Entombed should sound like? I mean, albums like Wolverine
Blues and To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth! are clear
departures from Entombed's early sound, but they still sounded great.
Same Difference is a harsh and cold departure from anything they've
done before, holding the music of a defeated hard rock band rather
than a legendary Swedish metal band. It's going to take all of '99
to forget this mistake.
Adam Wasylyk
EXHUMED - Gore Metal (Relapse/St. Clair)
It's a pretty sad state of affairs when you can narrow
a bands sound down to one or two styles simply be viewing the cover.
In this case, Exhumed's blood and gore drenched presentation led
to one of two conclusions -- One: that they would sound like Cannibal
Corpse and therefore suck shit or Two: they would sound like Carcass
and hopefully not suck shit. Number two proved to be the correct
conclusion as Exhumed sound like vintage Stench-core era Carcass,
complete with the Bill Steer/Jeff Walker vocal dichotomy and Carcass
style blend of blast-beats and death-metal. Sadly the lyrically
content isn't as intelligent or as disturbing as Walker's medical
inspired dementia, leading me to conclude that Exhumed could be
a dumbed-down Carcass for skids everywhere.
Chris Bruni
GATHERING, THE - How To Measure A Planet
(Century Media/St. Clair)
File this under lounge music for metalheads. How
To Measure A Planet has continued along the asphalt highway they
created when they enlisted Anneke Van Giersbergen, but they traveled
a little far and forgot to turn off at the hard rock/pseudo metal
highway and went straight pop highway 401. To call it a sellout
would be incorrect. The overall sound is still the same, no vocal
changes either. It's just slowed down, like the speed of molasses,
hence the lounge reference. You could probably see this coming,
with each release getting less and less heavy. Still, some heavier,
trippier moments exist a la Pink Floyd, but the guitars just don't
bite as hard as they used to. Fans who've followed the band shouldn't
be too surprised, but if there's a new listener out there check
out Mandylion first. That'll blow you away. Then come back when
your more mature and you're ready for adult contemporary metal.
Alex Ristic
MY DYING BRIDE - 34.788% (Mayhem/St. Clair)
I'll start off by saying that '34.778%' in no way
comes close to the brilliance demonstrated on the phenomenal Like
Gods of the Sun, which easily topped my Top 10 of '96. Having said
that, this album exudes a brilliance all its own, going in an entirely
different direction yet still remaining bleak and sorrowful, the
bands' longtime trademarks. Sporting a dirtier sound and longer
songs, moving on without ex-members Martin (violinist) and Vic (drums)
has certainly affected the band irrevocably, yet it remains to be
seen if it's for the worse. Take for example the lead-off track
"The Whore, the Cook and the Mother". Despite the ludicrous title,
the track is a good example of where the band are at now; slow,
droning and rather catchy. Don't get me wrong, qualities from 'Like
Gods of the Sun' are still present in this new incarnation, as more
than a few heavy and catchy riffs can be found with Calvin's painful,
dreary vocals. I'll admit it, My Dying Bride can't do wrong. One
of the better releases of '98, for sure.
Adam Wasylyk
OBTAINED ENSLAVEMENT - Soulblight (Napalm)
Easily, one of the most musically talented bands
in Norway today that deserve more recognition and now, freshly signed
to Napalm, 'Soulblight' takes this band's potentials to new extremes.
With classical music being the prime inspiration for creating the
music, Soulblight's musicianship can best be described in one word;
dynamics, and boy is this thing smothered in dynamics. Musically
overwhelming, a myriad of instruments blaring at once (which questions
the mix at times), this cosmic array of grand and eloquent melody
with pretty much symmetrical patters that flow through the cosmos,
is of such a high order and class. For some this might be too much
to handle, but for the dedicated one this is vital.
Chris Bruni
RITUAL CARNAGE - The Highest Law (Osmose/PHD)
Retro thrash has reached a new low. Osmose over the
years have signed a good number of high quality acts yet are still
privy to signing bands that people would sooner laugh at than plunk
down hard earned money for. Following in the footsteps of bands
like fellow Osmose labelmates Swordmaster and Gehennah, Ritual Carnage
not only sound like something from the 80's, but sound like something
from the 80's that should have stayed there. Guest appearances by
Cannibal Corpse's George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher and Morbid Angel's
Erik Rutan didn't stand a chance in redeeming this amount of worthless
t(h)rash.
Adam Wasylyk
ROTTING - Crushed (United Guttural)
I was incredibly pleased and impressed after getting
this CD into my filthy hooves. Adorned with a cover fitting to the
title, the real horror begins with the opening track "Sexually Tortured".
Outstandingly heavy, brutally uncompromising with a hint of Swedish
grind, Rotting take their abilities and listeners to new levels
of abhorrence. Virtually undying is the strengths of this CD as
each successive track continues to fulfill its promises to crush
the holy spirit out of us. With some recognizable and some obscure
sound clips spliced between songs, standout tracks include "Evil
I," "Christian Castration," "Blood" and "Guts". Varying tempos and
intensity (heavy and fucking heavy), this is easily a must have
for fans of real death metal. When your this heavy... they call
you Rotting.
Steve Wasylyk
V/A - Legend Of A Madman (Olympic/St. Clair)
Okay, let me get this off my chest. Some of the bands
on this tribute record really butchered...um...maybe that is too
strong of a word? Wrecked? Yeah that sounds better. Some of the
bands on this much anticipated tribute LP *wrecked* some of Ozzy
Osbourne's classic cuts. The guilty parties? Morta Skuld ("Believer"),
Distorted Rage ("I Don't Know") and Lethal ("S.A.T.O."). But to
everything bad there is something good, right? Cool covers: Solitude
Aeturnus ("No More Tears"), Toronto's Soulstorm ("Mr. Crowley")
and November's Doom ("Revelation (Mother Earth)"). A mixed bad of
goodies here and worth picking up if you dig tribute LP's.
Adrian Bromley
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