AESMA
DAEVA - The Eros of Fridge Beauty (CD -
Root of All Evil - USA).CDs REVIEWS (A - I) - NEW 9th EDITION!
AESMA
DAEVA - The Eros of Fridge Beauty (CD -
Root of All Evil - USA).
AESMA DAEVA was born as an experimental electronic/synth project of the musician John Prassas and the band grew for the current formation that include Danielle Lang on vocals, "The Eros of Frigid Beauty" are the second CD of the band and the concept of the album is faster guitar playing, longer songs, and broader instrumentation, including not only synthesizer, tape, guitars, and operatic female vocals, but also violin, trumpet, flute, french horn, prepared piano, and crystal glasses. The result of that powerful mixture is longer musics with many different climates and a sound experimentation that remember the Jazz in some moments, perhaps a good name for AESMA DAEVA'S style is "Progressive Darkwave Music", listen tracks as fantastics " In My Holy Time " & " The Mistrel Song " and you will understand what am saying. To listen traveling for the astral spheres and on the dark side of the Uranus... Contacts: thenewathens@yahoo.com / http://www.pmcmgmt.com/ADphotos/ (EF)
AGALOCH
- The Mantle (CD - The End Records --
USA).
MARVELOUS!!! SIMPLE MARVELOUS!!!!!! This is the second full-length from this incredible act coming from Portland, USA. The first album "Pale Folklore" (reviewed in Krepuskulum) already present us an intense deep voyage in the melancholic symphonies and ethereal embraces, mix influences of astral progressive rock like King Crimson, Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream with neo darkwave/doom bands and folk touches.Now, in the real masterpiece "The Mantle", AGALLOCH put your name in the history of avantgarde dark rock creating a fabulous opus of atmospheric songs when all instruments contribue with perfect balance, the 3 members J. William W. (bass), Haughm (guitars, percussion, vocals) & Anderson (guitars),and some special guests, are great musicians and their melodic sense are deep, the songs touch our souls and give us various sensations from the darkness to the beautiful luminosity. All songs are great, all lyrics are interesting, the sound production is great too, some tracks like " A Celebration for The Death of Man...", "The Lodge" & "...and the Cold death of the Earth" are hyms to darkfeelings. One of the best albums of the atmospheric darkwave history!!!! Contacts: theend@theendrecords.com / www.theendrecords.com (EF)
AGMEN
- Damnation (CD - Merciless Records - Czecch Republic).
Pure extreme Black Metal in the old sign!!!! Yes, this is another true holocaust Black attack borned in Europe with the mark of the devil, "Damnation" is the debut album of this pupils of Satan and it was record by only two members: Tom (guitar, bass & vocals) and Michal (Drums). It is a masterpiece of true brutal Black Metal in the line of cult acts from the past like BATHORY, MAYHEM, BURZUM, DARK THRONE and new darkgods like GORGOROTH & MARDUK, only for real lovers of the destruction that guitars/bass/drums and raped voices can do in the mind of darkness sons!!! Hail AGMEN!! Contacts: info@merciless-records.de / www.merciless-records.de (OE)
ALIENATION
MENTAL - Ball Spouter (CD - Khaaranus Productions - Czech Republic).
Experimental grindcore with death metal doses, like this we can define the sound of that interesting promise coming from Czech Republic, ALIENATION MENTAL creates an atmosphere of nightmare grind, in music as " The Restricted Cerebral Capacity " and " Apocalyptic Vision of The Future ", true sound holocausts where guitars, bass & drums creates an overpowering hell and they are lively for the furious vocals of Milan, that walk of the guttural to wild and sharp screams giving personality to the sound of the band, but they are not satisfied with that and it invests in curious sound experiments as in the tracks " Children of South ", where we listened scratches of rap and in the stranger and melodic " Instru-mental ". Without doubts this is one of the great revelations of the new grindcore! Contacts: alienation.mental@centrum.cz / lolokar@mybox.cz (OE)
ANTIPATHY
- Imminent Peril (MCD - Self Released - USSA).
Very curious...and strange...the cult thrashers of SEPULTURA have a perfect son in the USA and his name is ANTIPATHY. When I put this MCD in my CD player I felt in the begining of the nineties listening the wonderful album "Beneath the Remains" of the great SEPULTURA, the same guitar emblems, the same powerful riffs and the same apocalyptic climate!!! Yes all elements of the SEPULTURA's first albums are present in this "Imminent Peril", and the vocals of Samgar are identical to the Max Cavalera!But that doesn't depose against ANTIPATHY's music, it is a good point because we can also listen echoes of another great icons of the thrash metal as OBITUARY and KREATOR. In musics as " Who I Am/Someone Kill Me " we can feel that Antipathy walks for an own identity, we will await the debut album. Contacts: lukecelente@yahoo.com / www.AntipathyNY.com (EF)
ARCHAEUS
- Unveiled, the Lust for Torments (Demo CDD -
Self Released - France).
The first demo CD from ARCHAEUS is a hammered in the face, killing grind death metal with old black metal climate. The nihilist proposal include to show " the bestiality in man in parallel to an auto-destructive and desecrating social system". Any novelty here, but ARCHAEUS makes a good grind death that will please a lot to the fans of the style, it is enough we listen bombs as " On The Wings of Pain " and " My Destiny by the Will ", they will still surprise us in the future. Contacts: angelofdeath_rob@yahoo.fr / http://members.lycos.fr/archaeus (RF)
ARCHETYPE
- Dawning (CD - CDM Productions - USA).
ARCHETYPE is an act in the tradition of the new prog metal, when we listen this debut album we can notice several echoes of FATES WARNING, QUEENSRYCHE, STRATOVARIOUS & DREAM TEATHER, but ARCHETYPE's music is more heavy than those influences, the vocals of Greg Wagner remember the first phase of Mr. Geof Tate and its sound more powerful sometimes!! Chris Matyus is a great guitarist creating inspered riffs and melodic soles, he is responsible for the good melodic sense of the band, your companions Jamie Still (bass) and Keith Zeigler(drums) are good musicians too contributing a lot to the creation of musical pearls as beautiful "Inside Your Dreams" and the long epic prog suite "Years Ago" (12:37!!). An impressive debut CD to be include in all hearts of prog metal lovers! Contacts: archetype@archetype1.com / www.archetype1.com (EF)
ARCTURUS
- The Sham Mirrors (CD - The End Records&nnbsp; -
USA).
FUCK OFF ALL RADICAL & PURIST'S MINDS, this is one the best releases of the year!!! Yes, ARCTURUS return with a destructive limitless masterpiece of avant-garde rock
music, in its magician pot the band founds elements of prog metal, synthpop, electronic experiments, darkwave climates, jazz grooves, trip-hop seasoning and metal essence, no boundaries for the mix, no boundaries for the talent, because those Pandora's box of influences and tendencies doesn't turn the music of ARCTURUS boring, on the contrary, the band gets to gobble that whole load and to vomit a superb and coherent work!!! Great guitars, epic pop futuristic keyboards, clean & grave vocals creating an
universe of atmospheres in hymns of the avantmetal as "Ad Absurdum", "Collapse Generation", "Radical Cut" & "For the End Yet Again"! If the Metal has a future, " The Sham Mirrors "
is its oracle! Only for illuminated minds! Contacts: theend@theendrecords.com
/ www.theendrecords.com(EF)
AREA
167 - New World New Politics! (CD - Kick Promotion Agency - Italy).
This is a kind of nu metal band influenced by the new american wave of metal that include RAP, HIP-HOP e Hardcore touches in the sound, is strange listen an Italian band with rap influences because that shit is an north american musical style...But, if you love scratches, KORN, EARTH CRISIS and all new tendencies of Uncle Sam Heavy sound it is your new prominence. The band are technical and furious, but, excuse-me, I really hate rap... Contacts: manliokick@libero.it / www.kickagency.com (OE)
ARMAGEDDA
- The Final War Approaching (CD - Mercilesss Records
- Sweden).
Obscure dark feelings jumping from our CD player, primitive production, strange black&withe cover art with a purulent corpse painting picture, all elements remember us the golden phase of true escandinavian Black Metal, the references are IMMORTAL, DARKTHRONE, MAYHEM and BATHORY, of course, until the crudeness of the lyrics make us to remind the Gods (or Demons?) of Black Metal, true hymns to the prince of the darkness as " Sign of Evil ", " Unholy Sacrifice " & " My Eternal Journey "! Fuck off the melodic wave, you won't find female vocals, keyboards or violins in this hell masterpiece. Only sound rottenness in honor to the superb retreats of the hell, to listen waiting the end of the human race!! Contacts: info@merciless-records.de / www.merciless-records.de (OE)
AURORA -
Dead Electric Nightmares
(CD - Lucretia Records International -
Denmark).
Fabulous album, AURORA is a great metal surprise coming from Denmark, the band play melodic death metal in the vein of IN FLAMES, AT THE GATES & CHILDREN OF BODOM, but your music has a lot of personality, prog, gothic and dark influences give to them a special touch, creating a varied universe of
dark and heavy melodies, atmospheres of symphonic chaos, the melodic approach of the musicians is incredible, the two guitarists Thomas Broberg & Anders Vestergaard are
masters of the six strings, knowing how to unite power and melody very well and creating oniric and deep soles as in the fabulous " New God Rising", " Martyr of Life " and " Two Dice and A Silent Disguise", the vocals of Mr. Frolund are really hallucinating, he is the type of vocalist that really interprets the musics, he sings with all his soul and heart!!! The sound production is great too and the responsible person for that quality is the legendary productor Jacob Hansen, another great prominence of " Dead Electric Nightmares" is the lyrics, very deep and introspective reflections about the human
condition. Great work. Contacts: info@lucretiarecords.com
/ www.lucretiarecords.com /
www.aurora.ms
(RF)
AUTUMN
CLAN - Requiem To The Sun
(CD - W.A.B. Records - Austria).
I already listened more than 30 times this CD since it arrived.!!! AUTUMN CLAN is one of those bands that possess an uncommon shine, the identity and personality that none band in the world possess, is impossible to compare them directly with some other band, its style is only and certainty inimitable. "Requiem To The Sun" is a marvelous rock'n'heavy masterpiece, all elements of the CLAN's music work with perfection, is difficult to define the style of the band, but I can try to aim some perceptible influences as something of Stoner metal, some
Grunge touches, and still a certain gothic &darkwave influences. Jens P. Hermann (vocals & guitar) is a great vocalist, his voice shows us the whole feeling that AUTUMN CLAN's lyrics engender. The songs have a great pop sense (without losing the power and energy), when you listen the tracks for two times, they reverberate in our mind and are playing in the silence! The other musicians of the band are a
lake of talent and inspiration: Franky Baumann (guitar), Markus Kicker (drums) and Gabriel Kiri (bass) are magicians of rock'n'heavy nature, creating eternal moments like " Requiem to The Sun", "Dream Sequence", "Garden of Eden" & "The Lack of inventive Genius". AUTUMN CLAN RULES FOREVER!!!
Contacts: sabfra@aon.at / weezer@vienna.at
/ waitandbleed@aon.at / www.wabrecords.org (EF)
AXAMENTA
- Codex Barathri (CD - The L.S.P. Company
- USA).
This is the debut album of AXAMENTA, a Belgium based act that exist since 1993, the music of the band is a kind of melodic death-black metal with several symphonic influences and epic atmospheres, it remember legendary acts like MISTELTEIN, DIMMU BORGIR & old COVENANT and the AXAMENTA work will be loved by all fans of these bands. In the lyrics the band put your love for fantasy and horror, named your style of "Fantasy Metal", is a interesting label, but the music of AXAMENTA doesn't have new elements, is a great exemple of good melodic dark metal with powerful mid-tempos and oniric climates. The great moments of the album are the tracks "Echoes", "Deciphering Darkness" and the incredible dark epic "Through the Scarlet Forever". Contacts: mordheim@pandora.be / http://users.pandora.be/axamenta (RF)
BLACK
HOLE COMPILATION VOLUME 2
(CD Compilation
- Black Hole Productions - Brazil).
The fabulous brazilian extreme magazine BLACK HOLE released an incredible issue # 10, the work of the genious editor FERNANDO CAMACHO is more interesting and beautiful than in the previous editions, and this CD compilation is an incredible mix of the best underground extreme music made in all basements of the world. Now the compilation include bands of several styles (gore, grind, death, splatter, black and electrogore !!!) and the only likeness among them is the brutality and sound extremism! 25 bands from all world where we can highlight the participations of SUMMON (USA), with their raw death metal from the tomb; LYMPHATIC PHLEGM (Brazil), with their extreme symphonie for the splatter lovers; S.M.E.S.(Holland), and the most impressive avantgarde electronic gore for the new generation; GENOCÍDIO (Brazil), the great legend of brazilian death returns; DISINFECT (Germany), new revelation of european brutal death; LUCIFERIANO (Brazil), black metal in the old vein; and the great symphonic black metal of MY THRENODY (USA).If you are interested in knowing the directions of the extreme underground music this CD should play today in your CD player! Contacts: mail@blackholemag.com / www.blackholemag.com/bhp (EF)
BLOODY
GARDEN - The Lordlounge Park (CD - Crust Records - Brazil).
Breaking all the rules and boundaries of the avantgarde rock'n'roll, spitting in the face of radicals and pseudo-traditionalist criticals, these one man act coming from Ituiutaba city (Brazil) and their music is an saborous ice-cream to the opened mind rock lovers. We will find references of BEATLES, NEIL YOUNG, IGGY POP, ALICE COOPER, ROLLING STONES mixed with neo-psychedelism nervous and dadaistic progressive intentions, creating unusual songs like the sweet sad suite " A Friend for a Rainy Day", the punk schizo "Punk Forever" and the eternal ethereal title track!!! OPEN YOUR MIND TO THE NEW MUSICAL EXTRATERRESTRIAL KING and his name is DENIO ALVES, the mastermind behind this schizopoprock attack! Contacts: denio@netzap.com.br (OE)
BRAVE
- Searching for the Sun (CD - Dark Symphonnies - USA).
BRAVE is the new name of the already legendary ARISE FROM THORNS and " Searching from the Sun" is the first band's release with the new name, but the fans don't need to worry because the style of the band stayed intact and we can say that this work is heavier than the previous ones!!! Vocalist Michelle Loose continues superb, and her oniric voice is the personal mark of the BRAVE's sound, together with the excellent guitars work of his brother's Scott Loose, highly influenced by the great names of the prog metal (mainly FATES WARNING and DREAM THEATER). This album is more progressive and less atmospheric, but the style of the band continues being "Atmospheric Prog Rock" with some metal touches. The prominence songs of this album are the heavy " Trapped Inside ", the sweet " Bleed Into Me " and the deep " Candle in The Dark " with something of RENAISSANCE. Contacts: info@bravemusic.com / promos@darksymphonies.com / www.bravemusic.com / www.darksymphonies.com (EF)
CAPTURA
- Cenobio Isterico (MCD - Kick Promotion AAgency - Italy).
Neo Thrash metal with a intense influence of death metal, CAPTURA exist since 1996 and the main reference of their music is brazilian icon SEPULTURA (the first phase of albums "Schizofrenia" & "Beneath the Remains"), but we can listen echoes of SLAYER, KREATOR, PANTERA and something of ALICE IN CHAIS (above all in the music " Cenobio Isterico "). All tracks are singing in italian and it is the personal touch of the CAPTURA music. Interesting MCD, we are curious to listen the first album.Contacts: info@captura.it / manliokick@libero.it / www.kickagency.com (OE)
CARNAL
DIAFRAGMA - Preparation of the Patients for Examination
(CD - Khaaranus Productions - Czech Republic).
Putrid goresmatic rotten sound atack from the more deep basements of the underground!!!! It is grindsplattervisceralmicrobial proliferation, only rotten music remais in the end of our damned planet, only gore grindcore acts lake the inverted gods of CARNAL DIAFRAGMA will be show to us the path to the abyss! Crude underground amusical feelings jumped from our CD player when we listen anti-melodic manifests as "Deformation of Anal Vice, Penis and Vulva", "Fist Fucking", " Vomited Shits " and another poetic tracks like "Pulverized Testicles", "Stench Vaginalis" & "Blood Issue of Sperm" !!!! I recommend that CD for whole the perverted minds, psychotic murderers, serial killers, necrophilists and children in general!!!! EXTREME GUTTURAL MAGGOTS IN OUR BRAIN!!!! Contacts: lolokar@mybox.cz (OE)
CEREBRAL
TURBULENCY - Impenetrable (CD -
Khaaranus Productions - Czech Republic).
The Czech Republic is now one of the best lands of the earth to the birth of grindcore bands and the label "Khaaranus Productions" has been promoting the release of great names of that new wave like that CEREBRAL TURBULENCY. The proposal of the band isto play pure and simple grindcore in the old roots spirit of the style, without obsolete mix that hurt the spirit of true grindcore (except for the annoying presence of a DJ in some tracks...). The lyrics of the band is the prominence, because they are engaged in great political & social causes like fight against the consumism ("Don't Let Her Consume"), the pedophilie, suicide, animals suffering ( great song in spanish language " Adios A Las Corridas"), that posture is difficult of we see in the grindcore movement and only for that CEREBRAL TURBULENCY deserves our respect! Grinded your soul, mind and heart! Contacts: lolokar@mybox.cz / http://cerebral.webpark.cz (OE)
CORPSE
GRINDER - (CD -
Destroyer Records - Brazil).
If there is a band who struggled for some ideal, this is Corpse Grinder! Born from Machado-MG, this is another great promise of Brazilian´s Death Metal scene. Finally Corpse Grinder launched a CD, which demonstrates a "slow" Death Metal, but this not means bad music, it means fucking great music influenced by Black Sabbath and Unleashed. The first track, Natural Order of Things, show us a pessimist Darwin´s theory, showing men´s ignorance. All musics are great, but if you want to take a idea from their work, listen to 'Condemned to Die', 'Necrorealism', 'Reflections' and 'The Oppressor'. Contacts: www.corpsegrinder.cjb.net (Thiago Sousa)
CRAFT
- Terror Propaganda (CD -
Selbstmord Services - Sweden).
Every day that passes Sweden shows that is really the cradle of the extreme and brutal music of the whole Europe. And to complete it was accomplished more a excelent work by the True Black Metal act band CRAFT, its second CD " Terror Propaganda ", presenting a quality black metal that mix in the sound a lot of technique, brutality and speed. With that new CD the band shows all its competence and professionalism. Highlight for the powerful tracks " N.D.P. and " 616 "! Contacts: selbstmord@swipnet.se / www.selbstmord.nu (Leonardo Black Metal)
CRUSH
EFEKT - Eclipsed (CD - Self Produced - USA).
Imagine that old SACRED REICH, DRI, OBITUARY and KREATOR crossed with new acts like KORN, NILE and EARTH CRISIS...yes, the sound of CRUSH EFEKT is a kind of mix of those killer influences and also by a crude groove coming from hardcore underground, fury in hight voltage, explosive brutal instrumentation and torn vocals are the mark of those powerful quartet from Ohio in the USA. The prominence brutal death tracks of "Eclipsed" are: "Falling", " No Going Home", "The Last of Me" & "Powertrip". Raped your ears with this cruel sound crush efects... Contacts: crushefekt@columbus.rr.com / www.crushefekt.net (OE)
DATAKILL
- L'odio (MCD - Self Released - Italy).
Powerful hardcore coming from Italy, DATAKILL singing in italian and invest in a killing hardcore in the vein of traditional NYHC but with death metal influences, the band is a power trio formed by Stefano (vocals/bass), Lorenzo(guitar/vocals) and Davide (drums), all of them are good instrumentists and contribue indeed for the crudeness, agressivity and efficiency of the music of the band, the energy jumps of the CD player and whole love of the band to the underground music can be felt in those five musics. Highlight for the punkcore " Tutto Quello Che Vorrei ", and for the good cover of core hymn "Fascist Pig" of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. Contacts: datakill@libero.it (EF)
DEPRAVED
- Decadence & Lust (CD -
Warpath Records - France).
DEPRAVED is already a legend of european gore grind underground, the band exist since 1992 and they play gigs with icons like AGATHOCLES, NAPALM DEATH, SINISTER, etc. "Decadence & Lust" is the second full length of the band, and the first album released by a label (Warpath), the music of DEPRAVED is a kind of impure grindcore with gore sexual lyrics that the band named "porno-gore metal", the band create a real grind pandemonium with hecatombic guitars, and serialkiller vocals, soundtrack for all our deep perversions... The sound production is great, and the cover artwork is an excellence of sado masochist lovers (it remember also the insane nightmares of Clive Barker!). Great tracks: "Exciting Murder", "Masturbation in Worms", "Scream!!!", "Seeds of Perversion" and the end nightmare "Dive Sexual Depravity". Depraved sounds for depraved souls! Contacts: depraved.sexual@wanadoo.fr / www.sexualdepravity.com / warpath@wanadoo.fr / www.warpathrecords.com (EF)
DEPRESSION
/ HAEMORRHAGE - Zur Stille Finden / Treasures of Anatomy (Split CD - Cudgel Agency - Germany/Spain).
Two killer gods of the underground death grindcore subworld are united in those fabulous release of the cult label CUDGEL AGENCY. DEPRESSION is a famous german underground act that exist since 1989, the band's proposal is creating a nightmare symphonie based in death/grindcore influences and the line up is: Kai sattelku ( leader and founder, he play all instruments - drums, guitars & bass), Ron Sanders (guttural grunts) and Marc Miekeley ( growls and stupidity), 3 masters of the horror stupid anti-music deathgrind, they put 11 tracks on the split, the best of are "No Tumors, just Rumors", "No need for a God" and the powerful cover "Enough" from the godly AGATHOCLES. The second magicians for the grindnoise are spanish HAEMORRHAGE, 11 bombs to fuck the grindmindlovers, including some live-tracks from the band's 10th anniversary gig, with great covers of CARCASS, REGURGITATE and IMPETIGO, it is an sonic orgy for all perverted minds! Contacts: depression@gmx.li / haemorgue@hotmail.com / office@cudgel.de / www.cudgel.de (EF)
DESIRE
- Locus Horrendus - The night Cries Of a SSullen
Soul (CD - Honor Sanguine -
Portugal).
The cult portuguese act DESIRE create a eternal masterpiece of Dark Doom Atmospheric music!!! "Locus Horrendus" is a great production in all aspects, the cover artwork is beautiful and dark, the booklet is exquisite, the lyrics are melancholic, deep, introspective and intelligent, including special sweet parts singing in portuguese, and references to one of the greatest dead poets of the portuguese language, the genious Fernando Pessoa (a good friend of Mr. Aleyster Crowley!)...but the most important are the music...and the music is simple marvelous, the album was mastered by the famous Mika Jussila (that already worked with NIGHTWISH, THERION & CHILDREN OF BODOM), all details of guitars, keyboards, vocals and another instruments are present in the sound production, perfect balance of power and sweetness, the dark introspective-depressive melancholia is the dominant atmosphere in the album, and DESIRE are master of the dark feelings creating a perfect symphonia for desperate souls!!! Songs like "Cries of Despair", "...An Autumnal Night Passion" & "Torn Apart" will frozen all hearts of depression lovers. This is one of the best CDs of portuguese metal history!!!!!! Contacts: thecrowshelter@clix.pt / http://thecrowshelter-desire.planetaclix.pt / honorsanguine@clix.pt (EF)
DIPNOI
- Torn (MCD - Self Released - Brazil).
The new single of brazilian DIPNOI was recorded, mixed and mastered by the famous productor Tchelo Martins (he already worked with some cult brazilian bands like KRISIUN, CORPSE GRINDER & ABHORRENCE). The single present 3 new songs of the band: "Torn", "Greed" and "Melting" in them the band presents its sound highly influenced by the eighties thrash metal and with some punk pinches and grunge touches. The energy of musics like "Greed" are fabulous and this MCD leaves us with a great anxiety to listen the first full-length of DIPNOI! Contacts: errado@dipnoi.com / www.dipnoi.com (OE)
DRAGSTER
- New Times (MCD - Self Produced - Brazil)).
The gods of thrash metal are at party because their newer prodigal son born now and his name is DRAGSTER!!!! Yes, thrash metal is alive and its power can be listen in all extremes of the earth, DRAGSTER coming from Brazil to destroy the underground world with your incredible furious music based in old roots of thrash metal from Bay Area ( EXODUS, OLD METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH, TESTAMENT & ANTHRASH), this MCD is a proof of the extreme technic, energy and creativity of the DRAGSTER music, without forget the heavy attack! Good riffs, killing soles, visceral vocals and a lot of personality create those 4 thrash pearls: "Break Down", "The Chase", "Why Do You Kill When You Can Save Lives?" & "New Times". The Gods of Thrash metal are happy because their new son are great!!! We are ansious for the first DRAGSTER album! Contacts: dragster@dragstermetal.com.br / www.dragstermetal.com.br (EF)
DUSK
- Mourning...ressurect (CD - Lost Disciplee - USA).
"Mourning...ressurect" is a posthumous release because the legendary DUSK died in 1998, the great label LOST DISCIPLE gathered in that CD the 2 releases of the career of the band, the debut self-titled (1994) & the MCD " Majestic Thou in Ruin (1995) and it also included a special track that the band recorded for the compilation " Visionaries of the Macabre vol.1" (1998). The music of DUSK is a powerful and atmospheric Death-Doom metal, instrospective and deep with climatic keyboards, slow and furious at the same time, with a personality that little bands of the style possessed. That is an important ransom of that icon of the style, showing that DUSK marked its name in the history of metal with strong music like " Consigned to Oblivion ", " Mourning Shadow " and "Thy Bitter Woe". This CD cannot lack in the shelf of death-doom lovers. Contacts: ALHuman@aol.com / www.lostdisciple.com (OE)
ELFMAN
- Common Sky (CD - W.A.B. Records - Austriia).
ELFMAN is a contradictory mixture of neo american pseudo-metal like KORN, SLIPKNOT with the good names of seattle grunge movement, we can listen various echoes of NIRVANA, above all the "In Utero" phase (the second track "Drive" could be a track of "In Utero" that nobody would find strange!!), ALICE IN CHAINS and MUDHONEY. Besides also we can find some references to RED HOT CHILLY PEPPERS and to the NY old hardcore & neo rapmetal bands like EARTH CRISIS. The musics have soft moments mixed with jump-jump agressive guitar riffs parts, and bad DJ interferences... That musical soup can be indigestible for someone, but it ends up surrendering interesting tracks like " Inside " and the title track. Contacts: weezer@vienna.at / waitandbleed@aon.at / www.wabrecords.org (OE)
ELVIRA
MADIGAN - Witches
- Salem (1692 vs 2001) (CD - NorthLore Reccords
- Sweden).
Sweden is a kind of sacredland of the the new metal revelations, ElviraMadigan is another great surprise coming from this cold earth. The band is only Marcus H.(one man bands are the new wave of metal world...), the creative mind behind the instruments (guitar/bass/keyboards/drumsprogramming), vocals and lyrics. The ElviraMadigan musik is a kind of avantgarde melodic metal with black and darkwave touches, the keyboards are responsible for most of the climates and atmospheres of great tracks as " Orroboros & The Pilgrim ", " Haxor, Maror Och Vittror " and the fabulous " Dark is The Seraphim ". Marcus H.'s voice is also a positive point of the work, because he gets to be so much interesting in the aggressive parts as in the soft moments. The lyrics also very curious, writing in english and sweden language, besides the CD is a very beautiful digipack with cover artwork of the famous artist Luis Royo(Heavy Metal Comics Magazine). We will certainly still hear to speak a lot of that band and of Marcus H.'s brilliant musical concepts! Contacts: northlore@elviramadigan.com / www.elviramadigan.com (EF)
ESSENCE
- Transcendentoy (CD - Self Produced - Braazil).
This is the most curious experimental project coming from Brazil, the mainstream rock and metal magazine ROCK BRIGADE from Brazil hate this band and detoned ESSENCE releases in the reviews, the band invest in a kind of primitive prog atmospheric ritual played by 3 insine minds named OIDICIUS (Bass, Vocals, Flutes and Noise Efffects), YZAG (Percussion, vocals and Effects) & BLACKBIRD (Guitars, vocals, effects), crazy psychedelic musicians, that use the dadaism and tribal influences to create a strange/unusual noise that seems a improbable mix of COLD MEAT INDUSTRY bands with the 60 prog psychedelic rock. Listen the pseudo-lisergic dreams in songs like "Oxigen Evolution in Acid Solution", "Sakarapojo Naye" & "Reborn Star".Yes, this is the worst band of the planet and they are very cool! Contacts: ritualart@zipmail.com.br (RF)
ESSENZA
- Contrasto (MCD - Kick Promotion Agency -- Italy).
Hard Rock with progressive influences in the line of seventies bands, but singing in italian. The guitar soles are great and remember some inspirated soles of LED ZEPPELIN golden phase, another references of ESSENZA sound is ROLLING STONES & AEROSMITH. The band has an pop appeal as two last mentioned, a good capacity to create sticky refrains that are in our head after we listen music as " Tutta La Notte Rock'n'roll " & Pensieri ". Carlo is a great guitarist and a good vocalist (he needs to take care with the sharp ones!). Good sound for seventies rock'n'roll nostalgics. Contacts: carlo@essenza.ws / www.essenza.ws / manliokick@libero.it / www.kickagency.com (OE)
FATIMA
HILL - Aion (CD - Worldchaos Production - Japan).
The new work of those japanese cult band is an impressive exemple of the japan's metal power, in their first work, the album "Valhalla", FATIMA HILL already present the world with a interesting opus of good guitars power metal based, now they create a masterpiece of heavy metal with female vocals, the vocals work of Yuko developed plenty and now she gets to balance her voice in a harmonicer way, creating true moments inspired as in the tracks " Aeon " & Other ". The other great name of the band is the guitar man Anjue Yamashiro, a real guitar hero in the best sense of this title!!! The sound production of the album is very good and the booklet is beautiful (including the japanese translation to the lyrics in english). If you like power melodic metal, listen it now! Contacts: fatima@hill.office.ne.jp / worldkdm@syd.odn.ne.jp / www.fatima-hill.com (OE)
FINAL
TRAGEDY - Greed ...don't taste the poison (CD -Self produced -
France).
FINAL TRAGEDY finally released your first full-lenght, the french band exist since 1996 and they
had already released two EPs, including "Trial of Tears" reviewed in KREPUSKULUM, the debut album "Greed" is a great surprise, becouse the duet formed by Delphine Cochand (lead & background vocals) and Jean-Luc Millot (guitar/bass, programming & background vocals) had a explendorous musical evolution!!! The atmospheric prog metal played by the band is more balanced and climatic, the voice of Delphine is more sweet and introspective now, she found the perfect point for her performance, those evolution result in great songs like " Speak The Words", "On A Fall's Night" and "The Wait". Great work!
Contacts: final.tragedy@wanadoo.fr
/ http://perso.wanadoo.fr/finaltragedy/
(EF)
FORGOTTEN
TOMB - Songs to Leave (CD - Selbstmord
Services - Italy).
This is the DIVINE DECADENCE OF MANKIND! FABULOUS SYMPHONIES FOR THE DESPERATE SOULS AND SUICIDES! Death-Melancholic-Desperate-Doom-Black metal, yes... the music of those impressive one-man band coming from Italy is a serenade for sadness, dark sound masterpieces from the cold dirt tomb, the genious mind behind FORGOTTEN TOMB is "Morbid" (a perfect name for the obscure soul that create it), a great instrumentist, king of twilight guitars mid-tempos, dark keyboards and voices forged in hell! FORGOTTEN TOMB is a revelation of the style, and "Songs to Leave" is a masterpiece for the eternity, the sound remember old KATATONIA, but Morbid has great personality and creativity, the lyrics are sad nihilist poems talking about the misery of life...If you are thinking of cutting the pulses but don't have courage, listen that CD now and good voyage to hell! Contacts: selbstmord@swipnet.se / www.selbstmord.nu / www.forgottentomb.com (OE)
FROST
- Dark Possession (CD - Self produced - Geermany).
Beautiful logo and great cover artwork, that act from Germany begins to impress in the good booklet and in the concern with the details!! FROST debut album show to us a crude & brutal black metal in the line of the ninety legends from sweden and another cold parts of the Europe. You won't find keyboards here, no female vocals, no melodic make-up, only brutal, dark, destructive and evil true black attack. The lyrics talk about Satan , death and occultism, the 3 members use the traditional demoniac corpse painting and the tracks are real kicks in our souls, listen "Receive The Gift of Lucifer", "Twilight" & "Dark Possession" and frozen your spirit forever... Contacts: frost_black-metal@freenet.de / www.frost666.de (EF)
The
GREAT KAT - Wagner´s War (CD - TPR Music - USAl).
The Eternal Goddess of Internal Apocalypse return with your new classic nightmare!!! Yes, our best bitch queen of classic grind metal create another post-music masterpiece, now the LittleKat play 7 tracks in the light velocity, the first attack is the Kat version to the Hitler's friend Wagner, "Wagner's The Hide of The Valkyries", an impressive version of 1 minutes and 34 seconds, a powerful speed metal song!! In the next songs "War" & "Terror" KAT invest in a crude grindcore based in guitars and in "Punishiment" she return to the classic aproach, the last tracks are "Lizt's Hungarian Rhapsody #2"(for Symphony Orchestra & Band!!!) and "Sarazate's Zapateado for Violin, Piano & Band, two proofs of the musical talent of our Goddess. Kat play all instruments of the Orchestra and band (except Bass & Drums). The lyric thematic of this new album are war, Kat are inspired by the terrorism acts in your country and she to show a curious nacionalist posture in the pictures of the CD (in the back cover USA flag is behind the Kat that remember an american soldier), strange for an anarchist musician...But our goddess's talent overcomes everything. Contacts: karent@thomas-pr.com / greatkat@greatkat.com / www.greatkat.com (EF)
GRINDED
MIND - Your Suffering Will Be Legendary...
(MCD - Filthy Records - Holland).
Another good grindcore revelation coming from Holland, GRIND MINDED invest in a crude simple grind music, with drums "machine gun" all the time, raped riffs, cavernous vocal and none guitar sole, it remember the god phase of NAPALM DEATH and AGATHOCLES! Underground music without wave concessions, without melodic shits, without female vocals, only destruction, only anti-melodic stuff!!! The track "Six Feet Under" is a new hymn for the european grindmetal lovers!!! Putrid symphonies of the subworld! Contacts: rowan@home.nl / www.filthyrecordsxs3.com / www.grind.isviolent.com (OE)
GROSS
- Raisins De La Mort (CDR - Black Hole Prooductions).
Good news, the great magazine BLACK HOLE from Brazil is now a label too!!! The label invest in all kind of putrid-purulent-crude grind core, gore, splatter and underground music, the second release is the insane CDR "Raisins the La Mort" from the rotten one man act GROSS, it is a raw-sickness masterpiece of goregrindcore in the line of cult band DECOMPOSING SERENITY!! 31 minutes of bizzarre ears agressions creating by the dement crazy mind of "Lee Davis" the putrid brain behind this anomaly, 38 gorehyms like the bloody " Meat on Hooks", "Cemetery Past Dark", "The Mutant Larva", "Vomica Drain And Bowel Contamination". TOTAL MASTER GORE ATTACK! Contacts: mail@blackholemag.com / www.blackholemag.com/bhp / pusvomit@hotmail.com / www.oocities.org/pusvomit/gross.html (EF)
GROTESQUEUFORIA
- Euphoric Discordance (CD - Self Produced
- USA).
One of the best goregrind coverart that I saw, one the most interesting and efective names too: GROTESQUEUPHORIA!! YEAH, this is grind, this is gore, this is core-purulent-putrid and raw music for sickness-perverted-depraved minds, only for inhabitants from pandemoniuns and dirt cavernous of underground...Crude guitar riffs, dark speed gun machine drums and destructive vocals! Any novelty here, but if you like a sincere, insane and honest grindcore, that CD should be at your rottenrecord colection ! Contacts: indicafilms@yahoo.com / www.grotesqueuphoria.com (OE)
HAEMORRHAGE
- Morgue Sweet Home (CD - Morbid Records -- Spain).
The greatest legend from spanish underground offers us their new grind opus, HAEMORRHAGE exist since 1990 and in their long way into the european underground the band conquered hundreds of fans for the whole world and their name is always mentioned among the 10 better bands of grindcore of the present time! "Morgue Sweet Home" is a proof of the power and efficiency of the band, creating crazy grindhyms that will amaze all the lovers of the brutal-intense-gore- anti-music virulences! It is a masterpiece of the gender, new marks of grincore can be listen here: "Funeral Carnage", "Sublime Anatomy of Revenge" & "The Forensic Requiems". Contacts: haemorgue@hotmail.com / http://come.to/haemorrhage / promo@morbidrecords.de http://www.morbidrecords.de (OE)
HOLOCHAUST
- Holochaust (MCD - Self Released - Finlannd).
Finland's METALLICA son returns with this 3 songs MCD, HOLOCHAUST is a good act that create an interesting thrash metal higth inspired in the METALLICA best phase ( "Ride The Lightning" & "Master of Puppets" album!!), the songs of this MCD already was included in the first demo CD and they are very good. "Holochaust" is more heavy, "Guilty of Greed" is the more personal song (this is the best way for the band, in my opinion), and "Sad Philosophy" is a powerful ballad that remember the classic "Fade to Black". Good work for old bay area thrashers lovers. Contacts: ttiihone@kolumbus.fi / www.go.to/holochaust (OE)
HOMICIDE
HAGRIDDEN - Dead Black Sun (MCD Demo - Kick Promotion Agency - Italy).
Traditional raw thrash metal in the old vein with creep soles and a impressive presence of the bass (Dave is a king of the 4 strings!!! One of the best bassists of the neo thrash in my opinion!). The sound production isn't good because drums are very loud sometimes killing the powerful guitars riffs but that non damage the shine of that good demo CD. The main references of HOMICIDE HAGRIDDEN'S sound are TESTAMENT and OVERKILL the taste of the band's energy. LONG LIVE TO THE THRASH ATTACK! Contacts: hagridden@libero.it / manliokick@libero.it / www.kickagency.com (OE)
HYPOKRAS
- Dead & Hungry (CD - Warpath Records& -
France).
Brutal death metal holochaust coming from France, the new extreme revelation from Victor Hugo (and Quasimodo) country! In spite of France not to have great tradition in metal, now the country has been revealing great names for the world, and without doubts HYPOCRAS is one of them, the duet formed by Rhikou (growls) and Deinos (ignomies & guitars) produces one of the deathpieces more visceral and infernal of the last times, drinking in the source of bands like NILE, KRISIUN, CANNIBAL CORPSE, SIX FEET UNDER & DEEDS OF FLESH the band creates a true sound pandemonium in the 7 tracks of that work, inspired by gore movies and for the human decrepitude. Other great revelation of the label Warpath Records for the underground world. Contacts: deinos@wanadoo.fr / warpath@wanadoo.fr / www.warpathrecords.com (EF)
IN
PECCATVM - Antília (Demo CD -
Self Released - Portugal).
Good exemple of Symphonic Doom metal coming from Portugal, a country that possesses great tradition in this style (names like MOONSPELL & DESIRE are the proof). IN PECCATVM play sweet melancholic serenades with a great melodic sense, including some female vocals and special appearences of violins, viola & cello. The prominence musician of the band is the vocalist/guitarrist Neves, with a good performance in his two functions. The EP has 5 compositions, the best in my opinion are "Watery Portrait", great epic doom hymn. We will wait ansious for the debut album! Contacts: info@inpeccatum.8m.com / www.inpeccatum.8m.com (OE)
INSIDE
- Contradiction (MCD - Kick Promotion Agenncy - Italy).
The vocation of the Italian bands for the creation of metallic melodies seems infinite...This Italian sextet is an impressive test of that, the band invests in an curious mixture of thrash, power and melodic metal, betting in the onlooker mixes of torn female vocals and cavernous male vocal and, of course, in the melodic power of the keyboards and inspired guitar soles. Another point standing out in that work is the technique and energy of Andrea's bass (I remembered the great band ATHEIST in some moments...). Finally, a fabulous EP that does us to feel a lot of will to listen the debut CD of INSIDE, because that MCD only has 3 musics...Contacts: manliokick@libero.it / www.kickagency.com (OE)