REVIEWS - SECOND EDITION (NEW !! )

CDs:

STEEL WARRIOR - Visions from the Mistlands (Independent)

After a well happened demo, and of many shows (they opened for GAMMA RAY), the Brazilian band STEEL WARRIOR presents us its first independent album, a vigorous and beautiful Power Melodic Metal, influenced by great names of the style as Running Wild, Blind Guardian and Helloween, the album is a present for ours heard, uniting technique and feeling in the right measure. Guitarists André Fabian and Boon Yu are fenomenals. The vocal of Fabian are inserted perfectly to the proposal. Divine musics as Revenge and Crossing the Mist is feeling wells and beauty. The only bad point of the work is the layer, a amadoristic drawing that passes a missed image of the band. Praised it is TRUE METAL!!! Contacts: steel@melim.com.br steelw@zaz.com.br   (EF)

L'AHKÁ MÚZA - Sen Ohraniceného Zivota. (Sonnica)

This CD is a dream, a trip to the abissals profundities of the spirit. Female singer GUDRUN'S voice invades us and it takes us to an astral trance, your oniric voice is a portal for occult dimensions.Your music is an union of gothic, avantgarde, mantras, progressive rock, industrial, synth black metal and references to the alchemy, to the point arts and the artists' post-humanity as Stelarc, H.R. Giger, Lovecraft. Organs and sound subtileness seem to place us in a light ritual, the echo makes the music to sound as inside a cathedral. We are in a sacred ritual in some moments and in other we are in a Sabbatical profane ritual. Mysticism, lust, sweetness, death and it shines, eternity light. It is a divine dream from beyond... Cosmic alchemists from Slovakia!!! MARVELOUSSSSSS!!!! Contacts: lahkamuza@hbp.sk

PRIMAL RAGE - Biennium. (Independent).

Aggressiveness, brutality, hate, fury, tribal percussion, strong influences of Sepultura, Kreator and of good ninieties Grind - Death, letters that speak about problems social, political and psychological, a lot of instrumental technique. We are before a machine of tearing craniums, it is Biennium, first album of the Brazilian band PRIMAL RAGE, the style it doesn't present novelties, but the cohesion and violence of the sound will please all lovers of Death and Grind! Excellent Recording and beautiful cover artwork. Contacts: cerebus@mindless.com   (OE)

ECHOSILENCE - Ecletic Collaborations (Cd-Demo).

That band comes from Estonia, a country from where we could wait a nervous and brutal sound, but unlike that that we have a competent Instrumental Progressive Metal band that suffers influences of the icons as Dream Theater and Fates Warning. The band began in 1996 with the name of Decease and making Death metal ! after a lot of formation changes, they opted for doing progressive instrumental metal. Marek Kivi (G), Mart Karu(G), Arian Levin (B) and Risto Mõtus (D) are good instrumentalists and the music of that CD -Demo transmit a lot of peace and sweetness, but without losing the weight. The band deserves to record its first album, the option for the instrumental work gives a certain personality to the sound. Contats: madox@tpu.ee  (EF)

DEEDS OF FLESH - Path of the Weakening (unique leader)

That promocion copy of the fourth album that has a pretty and macabre layer with art folowing the Giger line, brings three great sounds of that Californian death-grind band. Violent and aggressive music, like Cannibal Corpse ", Carcass ", Entombed " and " Deicide ", not very novelty, but musics as " Sense of the Diabolic " certainly will satisfy all the maniacs for death-gring with its insanity and fury! With a little more of identity the band will be among the big of the style! Contacts: www.deedsofflesh.com (OE)

J.R.S - Wings of Gold (Moonchild)

" One Man Bands " be sources of its mentors' virtuosity, here it is very different; Jeffrey Ryan Smoots knows the difference between virtuosity and feeling and his progressive rock. With influences of hard rock, if it is not innovative, at least it is very well built. The references are " Asia ", Europe ", Whitesnake " and " Stryper ". The most incredible is that Smoots just has as company the drumer David Beardsley, and yet this way gets an amazing acting with the guitar, drums and keyboards. Besides his vocal is inserted perfectly in the proposal of the band. The letters are varied, some speak about love, another of space travels. The music are full of feeling, with refrains very well built, see pearls as " Homeland " and " Never Never Land "! Wings of Gold is an extraordinary album for the lovers of the style. Contacts: jeffreygtr@aol.com (EF)

MOONCHILD COMPILATION - (Moonchild)

It is not very common that a collection receives the maximum note, but this selection of new bands of the most disparate slopes of the progressive rock done by recording Moonchild is a very happy initiative! The progressive rock was already a "maistream" style in the decade of 70 with great names as Pink Floyd, Yes, Genesis, King Crimson and others. Now this style is underground, and the new bands devoted to him have little space even in the media specialized in rock. In spite of that, this CD have an exemplary selection of 11 new bands of great talent! The collection opens with " Fig Leaf ", creative amalgam of things as Pink Floyd and Hawkind. " Over The Falls " of Crucible, comes later and has as reference Yes and Jethro Tull. Already Deluc, third band, builds its instrumental music as great prominence for the guitars, as well as Pruett and David Group. Proceeding has " Smokin' Granny ", mixing scratches and references to the rap. The sixth band of the collection is the " New Sun ", its music " Cyrus Gore " is lyrical travel, full of subtileness and surprises. After we have two bands that do a strong investment in the keyboards and synthesizers, creating dream climates, onirics and travelers, two revelations: Indeed and Jeremy, the music " Poindexter's Army of Hissing Android Alien Spiders ", of Indeed is a perfect sound trail for a film of Scientific Fiction. The ninth band is " Blue Shift ", with vocal and structures very similar to the Yes best phase! " Magus " comes later with the beautiful and mysterious " 108 Steps to Babaji ". To finish the collection there is the " Truth in Advertisement ", climatic and sweet. In more than 72 minutes of good progressive rock, the stamp Moonchild shows how the style still stays alive and full of vigor! Contacts: www.moonchildartists.com (EF)

100% UNION - Brazilian Hardcore / Grind / Punk Compilation (Rottenness Recs.).

That collection is a good sample of the most aggressive sound done in Brazilian lands. They are 8 bands that alternate grind, hardcore and punk. The CD opens with T.P.M., punk female band , that has as prominence the voice of the vocalist's rioted duck, soon later we have PARENTAL ADVISORY, a grind rolled up without a lot of novelties, proceeded by the Mental Disturbance, with its nervous visceral hardcore!!! The next two bands are F.C.S. and DISCHORD that make a competent hardcore, highlighting the cavernous vocal of DISCHORD. Therefore later we have the two prominences of the collection NYXBELZEBU, with its very funny and powerful grind and PLAGUE RAGES, without doubts one of the most violent and powerful grind core band from Brazil!!! Closing the collection has the PURE NOISE that makes a raw and dirty noise in the line of Canadian bands like CLITORIS TRAFFIC and MEAT SHIT . Good CD for the lovers of the rottenness!!! Rottenness Recs Contacts: nyab@abrasnet.com.br  (OE)

FIG LEAF - Fearless (Moonchild)

Two types of musicians exist, the ones that study 24 hours a day to dominate the technique and those that possess feeling to create. If FIG LEAF musicians studied a lot I don't know, what interests is the adrenaline of your music that elevates my perception to high levels. No, it is not music for bangers, nor for sleppers, it is music to feel as the one of the albums of Led, of Almman Brothers, of UFO, of Jeff " Jazz " Beck, of Crimson. This American band won't play in them radios but it will play your hearts. Extraordinary! Contacts: aage.skar@skipnes.no   (MR)

DRASTIC - Thieves of Kisses. (Beyond ...Prod.)

This is one of the best Cd than arrived to KREPUSKULUM, DRASTIC is Italian and makes that your mentor Chris Buchman entitles of Dark Introspective poetry with avantgarde touch. It is an atmospheric melancolic inspired and creative doom, oniric and traveler, with operistic female vocals, keyboards colorings and obscure and lyrical guitars. The music are to each other very different and in three languages Polish, Italian and English. The sound is innovative, Chris is a genius of the melancholic sonorities. Music as Unearthly and Two Infinites are glorious hymns to the introspection. Finally, an extraordinary album !!! Long life to brilliant DRASTIC! Contacts: drastic@unive.it or Beyond Prod: bacol@sysnet.it  (EF)

E-MOTIVE - Same (Moonchild).

After all the good bands of the seventies disappeared or they moved of style, I felt orphan of good music. With the coming of the Internet was easier to find bands of high level as E-MOTIVE that in spite of the quality still continue in the underground. When hearing that Cd I could remember the mices of Triumvirat, of the magic flute of Mr. Anderson and its Tull. E-MOTIVE filled an emptiness in the musical moment that lived. Good progressive american band that brings us excellent memories! Contacts: emotive@ix.netcom.com  (MR)

NEW YORK AGAINST THE BELZEBU - Bateria e Baixaria (Rottenness).

This CD is a funny thing of that cool brazilian grind band. The CD contains 51 sounds recorded with battery, bass and vocal, some versions destroy the original music in a funny way like Rebelations (A version of Iron Maiden Revelations), The Call of Ku-Ru-Ru and priceless Grind You Like Hurricaine. It is the funniest true rotten grind of the world!! Who is? It is NYXBELZEBU!!!!! Contacts: nyab@abrasnet.com.br   (EF)

ARCHETYPE - Hands of Time. (Voices of Wonder -distro).

This competent band of Ohio, presents us with your second work, the MCD " Hands of Time ", a progressive melodic heavy metal with a lot of technical quality and feeling. The vocal follows a more line Power Metal, reminding the vocal of Jon Oliva for old Savatage while the instrumental accompanies a more progressive line like Stratovarious, but without the use of keyboards. Dissension's Wake is the great music of the MCD, with furious guitar riffs and vocal very inspired. A band that promises!!! Contacts: archetype@intromental.com   (OE)

EVERGREY - Solitude+Dominance+Tragedy (Black Sun)

This work begins to impress for the beautiful cover artwork of artist Kristian Wahlin and for the presence of productor Andy LaRocque member of King Dyamond. When we placed the work for playing we heard great energy and feeling of the melodic metal created by EVERGREY in this second album. The music are well worked and the vocal of Tom Englund that also answers for one of the guitars is very beautiful and deep, the recording is replete of details, as harps, violins and female vocals , but everything placed with a lot of balance and harmony. The letters were very well written. Music as Nosferatu and When Darkness Fall contain deep neoclassical melodies. Finally, a wonderful work, that certainly will place EVERGREY among the great names of the style! Contacts: grey@swipnet.se  (EF)

INSANITY - Mind Crisis (Muvuca)

One of the most competent Brazilian bands of death metal offers us with its deserved CD. Mind Crisis is an almost perfect album, with cohesion, weight and fury in the right measure, the letters are curious psichodrames and the industrial effects among the music are very well used. The great songs are Contemplations, Neurosis and Feed Me, where the vocals are worked with a lot of criativity. The album doesn't only take maximum note for the hidden strip "In This Cage ", a disposable techno music. Check. Contacts: gabai@ivia.com.br (OE)

NERVOCHAOS - Pay Back Time (Muvuca)

Brutal Death Core , fast and without concessions. Indefatigable energy and caught Punk, are like this already the music of nervous NERVOCHAOS, Brazilian band with a good highway that includes shows in exterior. The trio formed by Sidney (Lead vocals and guitars), Edu (Vocals, Drums) and Thomas (Vocal, Bass), offers us with well-aimed music like Revolt, Traitor and Bastard Pig where the fury arrives to its maximum limit. Also highlight for the backing vocals that give identity to the band. Contacts: muvuca_records@uol.com.br (OE)

INDEED - Inter-dimensional Space Commander (Moonchild)

Brian Hirsch is the man's name behind that American band of avantgarde progressive music, a talented multi instrumentalist and producer that is also responsible for the label Moonchild. In that CD that we have it is instrumental music of great quality, with strong presence of the keyboards and references that are going from Yes to Tangerine Dream. The music are built as a sound trail for a lisergic cosmic trip with oniric names like Surrealistic Sojourn/Speeding Through the Universe and Ethereal Oasis. A lot of feeling, depth and beauty that take us to navigate for occult dimensions of the soul and of the infinite universe. For those that like to fly with the music. Contacts: info@moonchildartists.com (EF)

VASTION - "Cold Stares of the Dead." (Independent MCD-DEMO)

Very creative death metal done by that competent American band. The 3 music of that MCD mix moments of extreme aggressiveness (where the band sounds Grind like NAPALM DEATH of SCUM) with beautiful moments of sweet strings with depth Doom. The musicians dominate the technique and the vocal is very brutal. Also highlight for the cover art of MCD, very interesting. The most powerful music of 3 is " FROM NOWHERE TO NOWHERE ", hymn death/grind of millennium end. Hear before the end, brutality and power that has everything to sign with a big label !! Contacts: Vastiondth@aol.com

CASTLE OF PAIN - " Dungeon of Doom " (MCD -Independent)

MCD with just a music of that band of Doom /thrash metal from Canada. The instrumental is very curious, investing in soturn climates keyboards and interesting guitar solos. The vocal remembers the one some bands of Thrash metal of the eighties, what gives an air retro to the band (it gets to seem WASP ). But the result is very good, the only negative point is the very apparent electronic battery. The band promises and we waited its DEBUT ALBUM! Contacts: rickster@interlog.com    

BRIAN HIRSCH - Quest for Truth (Moonchild)

Brilliant American instrumentalist's first solo album , with progressive music of great beauty and sweetness, epic arrangements of keyboard and sound evolutions, that work is a divine present to ours heard, being capable to elevate our spirit and to play us deeply. Hirsch is a magician of the synthesizers that learned its magic with the masters of Yes, ELP, King Crimson. Travel in epic progressive like Attack of the Sea Dragon and Temple of Knowledge. Marvelous album!! Contacts: info@moonchildartists.com (EF)

BRALALALALA - Well come to the Galaxy (Independent)

The visual is half a mixture of Glam rock Cinderella, with Marylin Manson, what results in a true crossdresser. The leader vocalist guitarist of that band Mr.Bralalalala, has girl's face and he is all e effeminate in the photos, when we see the cover of CD we think: It is a joke, but when we hear the sound, we were frightened, BRALALALALA is a hallucinated thrash and with good technique, besides a lot of personality. The band promises and in spite of Mr. Bralalalala to say the opposite, everything indicates that your visual one doesn't pass in a cheap way of to create polemic and to get free marketing. Forget the visual and concentrate on the sound, a good thrash-core-hard metal! Contacts: bralalalala@yahoo.com (OE)

ANTITHESIS- Antithesis (independent)

Power Metal band of technical and virtuous eye, with its debut album Antithesis offers us a very matured work. The music are built under creative riffs, coming from Paul Konijijca and Sean Perry's guitars. The vocal of Ty Cook is inserted perfectly to the sound, as well as Jim Lewis' safe kitchen (drums) and Paul Kostyack. The band biggest refence is the eighties power rock, notedly Armored Saint best phase. Beautiful premiere work. Highlight for the songs Limbo and The Web. Contacts: antithesis@earthlink.net (EF)

OBSCURA NOCTE - Shining Obscurness (MCD - Independent)

Italy comes as a new country of great bands that are going from the melodic (RAPSODY), until the black metal (OPHERA IX). OBSCURA NOCTE is one of the new talents coming from Italy. They make a inspired and curious doom metal, presenting two music in its first work that last each one more than 12 minutes, adding 27 minutes of music. The guitar rifs is dense and soturns and the great prominence are the vocal with a very interesting variation, going from the guttural to the darkest. The keyboards are very well placed, above all in the best of the two songs, the epic mythical dark " A FUNERAL IN SHINING RUINS". Long Life to OBSCURA NOCTE! Contacts: chandra@libero.it (EF)

KANDOR - After Antichrist (CD - Independent)

Avantgarde mystic occult black metal from Germany! A lot of criativity and indiscriminate use of keyboards, guttural, sweet and opheristic vocals, touches of Doom metal and Heavy, oniric melodies. They are 19 music including some keyboard trips in the line of Mortiis, and great profane sound rituals like " AVE LUXIFER " & " 616 ANTYKRYZT ", everything sung in German!!!

If they pass to sing soon in English they will have a label one and with certainty they will be a new great name of the scene!! Extraordinary for the fans of post-black metal.

Contacts: kandor@gmx.de  (OE)

FAROL- Sound@Speed of Light (2CD Compilation - FAROL)

Ecletical music compilation from this portuguese label. Highlight for the rock bands and metal: RAMP, considered one of the best bands of heavy metal of Portugal, that makes a sound in the line of old Metallica, the fenomenal INHUMAN, that abandoned the gutural vocal and now it invests in a doom of melodic influences, and powerful SACRED SIN, technical and creative death metal, with influences of SEPULTURA in the vocal ones. But the collection still counts with  works of bands as DEMENTES (Punk), CAPITÃO FANTASMA (rock'n roll), PRIMITIVE REASON (Fusion) and FLOOD (Rock). The label is of congratulations for to believe in the metal and to open its doors. Contacts: farol@mail.telepac.pt     (EF)

THANATOS - Melégnia (independent)

The Portuguese metal has been growing a lot in quality, Thanatos is an exact test of that. Its debut Melégnia is a creativity explosion and good music. The style is something tasty not defined, some thrash, something of death, a larger pinch of doom added to a guttural vocal of black climate. In the middle of everything we can still notice a healthy influence of Black Sabbath. Unlike disturbing, some spaces in Portuguese in musics as " Love and Death " gives a climate very interesting andnonsense to them. Thankful surprise of the Camões earth! Contacts: thanatosband@hotmail.com (EF)

DEMOS:

SOILS OF FATE - Blood Serology (Independent Demo)

All the brutality death metal is concentrated in that demo, second release of that band from sweden. The vocals are the great prominence, guttural and grotesque, really impressive and vocalist Henke guarantees not to use vocal effects! The instrumental is technical and powerful, in the line of bands as MALEVOLENT CREATION and of SLAYER of the phase Reign in Blood. Great release! Contacts: strippedhumanity@hotmail.com (EF)

BURNING IN HELL - World Of Illusion (Independent).

Overcoming the suicide of one of their members, guitarist EMANUEL PIRUCCINI, the Brazilian band BURNING IN HELL released a beautiful work, wasting technique in its power melodic metal, replete of beautiful guitar duets and vocal epic. The band that was already aimed as revelation by the famous brazilian magazine Rock Brigade is about to sign with a European label! Certainly it will be a new revelation of the Brazilian metal for the world. The band not wins maximum note for some faults of the vocalist that sometimes exaggerates in the screams. Contacts: mcmoreir@ucs.tche.br  

GRUUNKS - Beyond your Death (Independent).

Melodic Occult Black Metal from Brazil. The visual traditional of the black metalers, with colored faces and pentagrams it comes accompanied of a good work of the guitars and darkness keyboards creating atmospheric climates, this is the force of that band. The recording isan't good, above all for the choked box of the battery but that doesn't impede of we feel the energy black hidden in those 3 obscure musics. The music " BEYOND YOUR DEATH " is the great prominence, with a melancholic introduction and influence of the old black metal school in the fast parts. Indicated for the fans of the style! Contacts: gruunks@hotmail.com