CDs REVIEWS (I - Z) - NEW 6ª EDITION!

IMPALER - One Nation Under Ground (CD - Root of All evil - USA) . Curious band with gore/trash movies influence in the lyrics and visual (the CD cover art is a tribute to RE-ANIMATOR - classic of 80's gore movies!) & punk rock/80's metal influences in the music. In some moments it seems that we are hearing RAMONES with vocal of WASP and ALICE COOPER's climates!! Curious mix that result in great moments like in the songs "Revenge of The Lizard Man", "Girl of My Screams" & the great ALICE COOPER's cover "Teenage Frankenstein". Good band with humor sense and  rock'n'roll spirit! Contacts: www.rootofallevil.com / root@rootofallevil.com  (EF)

INHUMATE - Growth (CD - Grind Your Soul - France) - The french grind act INHUMATE continues its grotesque, guttural and rotten saga in this third album! Here you can listen new 17 decompositions that will melt your brain and to rot your soul. Anything of melodies or soles, that is pure and primitive grind core for who likes of having the squashed neurons. France already has its god grind gore and his name is INHUMATE! Contacts: www.inhumate.maxximum.org   / INHUMATE@ifrance.com  (OE) 

INTERLOCK - Submerged (MCD - Self-Produced -UK). This English band is part of the new fusion wave of metal, captained by the keyboards and synthesizers, the music of INTERLOCK is a true amalgam of tendencies and styles, uniting as varied influences as ANATHEMA, PORTISHEAD, CRADLE OF FILTH & NIN. The music possess interesting industrial climates, them until they participated in a CD of the band MZ.412. released by the legendary industrial label "Cold Meat Industry". The female vocals of Emmeline May make the diference of INTERLOCK, bringing for the darkwave a tendency consolidated in the doom, the union of vocal brutal with swett female vocals. The prominences "musics of the CD are heavy "Fifth World" and climatic/pop "Birdman. Contacts: www.interlock.freeserve.co.uk   /  vision@interlock.freeserve.co.uk   (EF)

JUDAS ISCARIOT - Dethroned, Conquered and Forgotten (MCD - Red Stream - USA). True one man black metal band! JUDAS ISCARIOT made a true black metal  influenced by nordic/european acts like GORGOROTH, DARK THRONE,  MAYHEN & BATHORY, the themes are extreme and crushing, however the guitars have an killer melodic sense in all compositions in the line of cult french act BLUT AUS NORD and NECROMANTIA from Greece. Akhenaten is the crazy bestial mind behind this five infernal compositions. Rotten darkness & putrid hymns to all hell hordes... Contacts: www.redstream.org / RedStream@aol.com   (OE)

KASEKE - Põletus / Sõnum (CD - Boheme Music - Russia) - This CD is formed by the union of the two classic albums of KASEKE, the legendary band of instrumental fusion progressive rock from Estônia : LP " Põletus" (1981) and EP " Sõnum "(1983). The music of the band is an instrumental progressive fusion rock with jazz touches and a lot of creativity in the arrangements that include very interesting flutes. The work of guitars is rich and the recording is very good. It is not by chance that KASEKE is considered a legend of the Russian progressive rock and its LPs are very disputed by the collectors. Listen the onirics " Secret Joy " & " Dancer" and the aggressive and fast "Unsightliness" - you will feel the energy and beauty of the music of KASEKE. That CD is extraordinary for anyone that likes rock progressive avant-garde! Contacts: www.boheme.ru / boheme@iol.cz   (EF)

KRISTENDOM - From Within (CD - Osmose Prod./Mystik Prod. - France). Death/thrash metal band from France, KRISTENDOM have theirs musical direction influenced by legendary acts Like SEPULTURA, KREATOR & SLAYER. The 14 compositions of this CD are extreme and insane, musicians have technic and powerful , but the band doesn't present great novelties, the vocals are very similar to Max Cavalera and the guitar rifs remember the SLAYER's "Reign Blood" phase. The fabulous moments of the CD is the epic "The Slave Will Became Great" and "The Diva", when the band includes epic chorus and opheristic atmospheres.If the band proceeds for this creative road it can go far! Contacts: http://mystikprod.free.fr/   / mystikprod@free.fr  (EF)

LONG WINTER'S STARE - The Tears of Odin's fallen (CD - Dark Symphonies - USA). Another marvelous release of the new legendary doom atmospheric label Dark Symphonies. LONG WINTER'S STARE is one the first atmospheric doom band's of the world and this is its third opus, a symphonic masterpiece of darkness slow atmospheres, sweet deep female vocals & classic gothic keyboards mixed with brutal death growls, inspirated chorus, dramatic guitars. Wonderful emotional metal, musics like the divine "Bood of Stell" and the ethereal/grotesque "Blood of My Fathers" have and impressive epic sense. To you listen in your darkness introspective voyages!!Contacts: www.darksymphonies.com  / darksympho@aol.com (EF)

LOSS - Human Deacay (MCD -Deemo - Self Produced - Sweden). Another great brutal death metal act coming from Sweden. Only 3 songs that show us the fire power of this impressive band. Nothing new here, but the guitarists' couple gets to create very interesting climates that remind the first albums of SLAYER. The three music are cooll, but "Enclosure" that closes the CD is the great prominence, where epic climates emanate of the background. We are awaiting for the first full lenght! Contacts: loss666@spray.se / hairybones@spary.se  (OE) 

MANIPULATED SLAVES - Burst Into Blue Flame (CD - World Chaos Production - Japan) - This is Japanese mix of KREATOR, SODOM and new melodic death stuff. The vocals and guitar rifs coming from 80's years with old feeling of ripping corpses. The vocal is very influenced by the great OBITUARY (in agressive moments) the guitars are masters of the instrument and we listened new atmospheres all the time. If you love 80's Thrash metal and new melodic death this album is a present of the gods (or demons!). "Halfway of Heaven" is an beautiful and oniric song, a new hymn of thrash melodic metal. Contacts: Label - worldkdm@syd.odn.ne.jp   Band - ykg@os.xaxon.ne.jp  (OE)  

MAUDLIN OF THE WELL - My Fruit Psychobells -A Seed Combustible (CD - Dark Symphonies - USA).This is a really avantgarde act, a good mix of doom, atmospheric, death, dark wave, progressive, melodic & psichodelic rock!!! The style of the band was called for their of "Progressive Astral Doom Metal", it isn't a good name because the band's music have more feelings & structures that this simple title. We can listen elements of classic music, folk and until jazz touches. The band plays also another instruments like clarinet, trumpet, cello, hand drums, etc. The musical structures are very complex but this virtuosism doesn't remove the powerful feeling of the music. MAUDLIN OF THE WELL represents for the metal that bands of the movement RIO (Rock In Opposition) represented for the progressive rock, a great and creative rupture with the effective patterns. All musics are great and the lyrics & art concept have a nonsense psychodelic force!Contacts: www.darksymphonies.com   / darksympho@aol.com  (EF)

MORGAN - Hell Acess (MCD-Demo - Self Produced - Brazil). New brazilian thrash metal act coming from Curitiba. That work gets to show that the band has potential mainly in that refers to the guitars' work, very killer once again. As happen in new bands,  is the vocal that isn't good, the vocalist has a furious emblem voice but he seems to sing out of the music, perhaps be a problem of the mix, I don't know. But I believe that the band has very potential ( hear "Human Nature" to feel the power) and they only need to get right those details. Contacts: morgan@astral.zzn.com  (OE)

MORTUARY DRAPE - Tolling 13 Knell (CD - Avantgarde Music - Italy). This is one o the oldest black metal acts, Mortuary Drape borned in Italy in the year of 1986, their called your style: "Black Occult Metal "and this new release is a very worked opus, with influences of black metal old school and melodic new tendencies. Keyboards are responsible by criptic climates and the vocal sing like in an medieval ritual, vocalist have a singular dramatization of the songs. The lyrics of MORTUARY DRAPE made a complex mix of medieval occult symbologies, including the sense of death, of the astral world and old necromancy, musics like the deep epic "Vertical" talk about the big - destructive events, thus on cosmic and planetary level. To listen behind the magic drapes of  the Universe! Contacts: greylife@tin.it    (EF)

NIFELHEIM - Servants of Darkness (CD - Black Sun Recods - Sweden) - Extreme true death black metal attitude!!!! This is the flame of NIFELHEIM , the band wrote in the release: "We did for METAL what GG ALLIN did for PUNK - made it disgusting and dangerous again" This is the true, because the band is an agressive act in old style of legends like VENOM, SODOM, DESTRUCTION & BATHORY, its music sounds like primitive killing black death of the beginning with influences of the legendary brazilian death metal scene : VULCANO, SARCOFAGO, MUTILATOR & CHAKAL. This CD is a explosion of insanity and ripping corpse rifs, musics like "The Bestial Avenger" fucked our brains and mutilate our souls!!!!! AVE NIFELHEIM!!! Contacts: Label - wholesale@dolores.se  Band - bloodmassacre@hotmail.com   (OE)

NIGHTMARE - Waiting for The Twilight (Cd - Brennus Music - France). Nightmare is an legendary french heavy metal act created in 1979!!! This album was released in 1984 and now the great label Brennus is rescuing that historical work re-released it. This is an great album, with influences of bands like SCORPIONS (Old), DEF LEPPARD & JUDAS PRIEST and had all good elements of 80's heavy metal - good creative guitar riffs, epic refrains, insane vocals (singing with personality and without growls!), soles with bluesy feelings and much more!!! The record wasn't cool but the new mix has an acceptable sound to this memorable CD! Prominences for the beautiful ones: "Royal Death ", "The Legend" & "Too Late". Contacts: www.infomusique.com/brennus / Brennus.hardrock@wanadoo.fr  (OE)

NOVEMBERS DOOM - The Knowing (CD - Dark Symphonies - USA). This is the best dark doom metal CD of the year!!! The third album of NOVEMBERS DOOM show a mature band with creative musical structures, great personality and fabulous feeling. " THE KNOWING " is one of those perfect Cds where all the music are beautifuls and they possess something of special. Paul Kuhr is a marvelous vocalist with a powerful and varied voice, and the lyrical concept behind "The Knowing" was great, the poetic sensibility of Kuhr's verses is intense, and some of the sentences of his musics are hurting our brain like " I Want to live my life once more", singing in the new eternal doom hymn "Silent Tomorrow". Eric Burnley & Larry Roberts are magicians of the guitars, playing terror climates and sweet darkness melodies, the production was great, we can listen all details of some complex musical strutures of the musics.The art work is good too, the illustrator was Travis Smith, famous for his cover arts to DEATH & NEVERMORE.  This is a perfect album and final point! WONDERFULL! Contacts: Contacts: Label -  www.darksymphonies.com   / darksympho@aol.com  Band - www.novembersdoom.com / novdoom@aol.com  (EF)

NYCTOPHOBIC - Insects (CD - Morbid Records - Germany) - New NYCTHOPHOBIC's work is a crude mix of brutal death & grind core with crust touches. 17 "decompositions" in 35 minutes, you can't listen soft midtempos here!! This is an grind holocaust for noise lovers. To finish the sound agony we listened a killer cover of BLACK SABBATH's classic "PARANOID", a curious and insane version. The only bad point is the techno-industrial version for the track "Co(g)-existence",  a cake of cliches... Contacts: www.morbidrecords.de  / promo@morbidrecords.de  (OE) 3

O BANDO DO VELHO JACK - Procurado (CD - Self Produced - Brazil). This one of the best brazilians hard'n'rock blues'bands and it is their new great work. O BANDO DO VELHO JACK makes that sound with rock'n'roll groove that all the true lovers of the 70's rock will adore. They have a feeling blues that marked bands like LED ZEPELLIN and DEEP PURPLE and they add that a sound energy that reminds brazilian legendary band MUTANTES, besides the CD brings a very cool version for " Ando Meio Desligado ", classic of Mutantes. The lyrics speak about lost loves, highways and bars, in a " Born To Be Wild " climate, finally, is a very good CD that will be indispensable for the lovers of the good and old rock'n'roll. Contacts: www.velhojack.cjb.net  / myallouz@zaz.com.br  (OE)

OBLITERATE - The Feelings (CD - Erebos Productions - Slovakia ) - Obliterate play furious grind core influenced by powerful acts like NAPALM DEATH & EXTREME NOISE TERROR. The guitars are very technicals, drums & bass composed an apocaliptic atmosphere motivated by the emblematic lyrics of the band - Indian Holocaust, Life's Attitude & Insane are some of the insane decompositions of those putrid album. In the end of " Indian Holocaust" we can listen a strange chorus of indian voices... this great details are the mark of  OBLITERATE! Contacts: Label - www.erebosproductions.com psycho@erebosproductions.com  Band - obliterateband@hotmail.com  (EF)

OBSCURED INTROITU - Orcus of Common (MCD-Demo - Self Produced - Brazil). Strange, strange, strangeeee!!!!!!!! great, great, great!!! This brazilian band made a impossible mix of death metal & JAZZ!!!!! When I listened the MCD for the first time, I staied confused and some dissonances hurted my brain, but when listened it again and again I saw that it is a new form of progressive music...progressive death metal!! If you seek new sounds, like heavy music and you have the mind opened for experimentalisms, those five music they need to be heard by you. The prominences are "Diversty", an ellipse of half times, brutality and dissonance and "Chaos of Krasis " - 9 minutes of pure Brutal Jazz Metal! Contacts: introitu@usa.net (EF)

PATRIARCH - Deity (MCD - Self-Produced - Belgium). PATRIARCH is a very old Belgian band, it was formed in 1982 with the name of Pariah and it recorded its first album with the name PATRIARCH in 1990, this MCD is the third work of the band and in spite of the formation changes and difficulties faced in every year the band maintained its power and sound energy and that is an interesting mini-album. The sound proposal of the band is to do a power thrash metal bringing its good 80's roots and creating music that remember us the bands like OMEN, METALLICA & TESTAMENT.Of the four music that compose that MCD the most interesting is " Enigma " where the rifs work and the vocal ones show all its energy and potential. Contacts:  patriarchfm@hotmail.com  (OE)

PROFANITY - Slaughtering Thoughts (CD - Cudgel Agency - Germany). That CD is a big nil in the ears, PROFANITY is one of the most extreme formations of Germany and makes a Brutal Death Metal to the speed of the light, something that can be compared the bands like CANNIBAL CORPSE & KRISIUN, the great prominence of the band is truly the sensational work of guitars, uniting the weight of CARCASS rifs with the brutality/insanity of DEICIDE. The CD is killer from beginning to the end and the torn highlighted musics are: " Soultornado-Hate Burn Insade " (an infernal nightmare!), "Soulitude" and the apocalyptic destruction of "When Color becomes Pallor".  Contacts: label -  www.cudgel.de / office@cudgel.de  / Band - brutal@profanity.de  (EF)

QUARK 7 - Once Upon a Crime (CDD - Self Produced - France). France have tradition in good prog bands, QUARK didn't change this way. It is a great self production, all intrincate & beautiful deatails in the QUARK compositions can are listened in the CD. The proposal is to play prog metal but some musics have 80's hard rock feeling, like the sweet " Bleeding Hearts" & "Will to Live". In their 66 minutes of music these album have some marvelous moments ( Mystery, Soldier ) and others not so inspired. Mikael Fitrzyk is a marvelous guitarrist influenced by Malmsteen & UFO!! Soft prog metal to listeners with sensibility! Contacts: E-mail - quark.rock@free.fr   Site - http://quark.rock.free.fr  (OE)

QUINTESSENCE - Lonely Seas of a Dreamer (MCD - Self Produced - Brazil). That band is one of the new promises of the brazilian atmospheric doom and that work is the test that they will arrive far away with its music. They are 5 inspired compositions where the keyboards and the guitars compose dream climates, the vocal of André Carvalho possess great power of variation of the brutal to the soft, reminding the vocal of old PARADISE LOST in brutal moments. The lyrics are also well written and they speak about dreams, deliriums and of the nature. The great music of that CD is the epic "Matronae Gaia " an oniric travel, glorious elegy composed of a lot of atmospheres and introspective acts. The cover of the CD is beautiful, it brings a picture of the Tarot's card " The Star " of Frieda Harris. Contacts: http://get.to/quintessence  /  quintessence@uol.com.br  (EF) 5

RAIN - Natural Order - ( CD - Thundering Records - Switzerland). Second full lenght album of this avantgarde synth metal from Switzerland. "Natural Order" begins to impress for the beauty of its cover art, a beautiful illustration that shows a scene of a tropical forest. The band invests in an innovative darkwave metal with majestic keyboard climates, guitars and vocal with influences of melodic black metal (DIMMU BORGIR, CHILDREN OF BODOM). Some music present grandiose and complex arrangements that involve them in a symphonyc majestic climate as beautiful "Gaya My Home". Following a close line the one of great names of the European dark synth metal like FUTURA from France and GODKILLER from Monaco, RAIN is going demonstrating that has everything to become one of the great names of that style. The band presents a great concern with the lyrics and creates beautiful concepts as in the good musics inspired by the 4 alchemic elements: "Water", " Fire ", "Earth", "Air ".Contacts: http://home.nordnet.fr/~thunder   / thunder@nordnet.fr / info@transitmag.ch  (OE)

RAIN FELL WITHIN - Believe (CD - Dark Symphonies - USA). New revelation of world Atmospheric Metal! This American band certainly will arrive to the top in that style because its work is simply wonderful!! The nfluences of the music of the band are: THE GATHERING, THEATRE OF TRAGEDY, NIGHTWISH, TIAMAT, AMORPHIS and DEAD CAN DANCE, but doesn't think that they are clones, because the band has a big personality, mainly in what refers to the vocal aspect, because Dawn Smith ( female vocalist) possesses an only and marvelous voice. The five music waste emotion and majestic climates, the guitars are always melodic but they never leave sideways the heavy aspect, the keyboards are inspired and very well placed in the compositions. "Alone " & "Believe " is melancholic and sweet musics, with beautiful double operatic vocals where the musicians' melodic creativity arrive to the sky! Soundtrack for dark sweet dreams in the garden of purgatory!!!! Contacts: www.darksymphonies.com  / darksympho@aol.com  (EF)

REBAELLIUN - Bringer of War (MCD - Hammerheart Records - Brazil). It is one of the most agressive &putrid acts in the world!!! REBAELLIUN already is one of the most famous brazilian death acts in europe, this fame is because its sound is really unique in their limitless fury, a thunderstorm of spedd killer drums, ripping brain guitars and rotten-insane-powerful growls from hell!! This MCD is an item that should consist in the collection of any true deathbanger. They are only four music, but they have enough to melt our brain and to destroy our soul!! Contacts: http://rebaelliun.cjb.net / rebaelliun@yahoo.com  (OE)

REFUGIUM PECATORUM - Ancient Days (MCD - Self Produced - Brazil). This Brazilian doom metal band was well-known in the national scenery after the release of its first CD, an exquisite work that counted with inclusion of vocal feminine and violins, being one of the first bands of Brazilian doom to use those elements. After the first CD the band went by a lot of changes and problems and decided to record that MCD. That work is a great deception because the production was weak, choking the sound of the drums and leaving the vocal very loud, unassuming that the new vocalist of the band has a voice that is not inserted in the proposal. We can hear some good ideas of the compositions but the bad production kill everything! We hoped in the next work the band can show its potential. Contacts: www.welcome.to/refugium   / Refugium@uol.com.br  (OE)

SILENT EXILE - Dancing with Death (CD - Naivlys Music - Canada).This is the debut album of the progressive canadian rock band SILENT EXILE. The music of this band is a creative mix of various styles and tendencies: progressive, melodic, avantgarde metal & hard rock, all musics have dinamic and complex arrangements with some orchestral structures. Cedric Rioux is a master of atmospheric/melodic keyboards and your presence in compositions how "Stratosphere" give an extraordinary cosmic aproach to SILENT EXILE. Good musicians and real feelings are another great points of "Dancing with Death". Even ballads as " Broken Hope " emits honesty and feeling ! Great work for the lovers of good melodic guitars and dream atmospheres. Contacts: www.silentexile.com  /  silent_exile@hotmail.com  (OE)

SLANG - Los Locos (CD - Carbon 7 - Belgium). Avantgarde instrumental jazz with great presence of saxophones, flutes e percussions and a progressive rock touch. This work is very interesting because in spite of containing a strong experimental elements in its music, it doesn't become annoying in any moment, being always climatic and replete of melodic sense. The music possess the most several atmospheras that go from the instrospection and darkness, to cheerful and expansible moments, as the beautiful music " Los Locos ", that has some flutes that get to remind JETHRO TULL. The instrumental work is excellent, above all the impressive bass of François Garny and Michel Seba's percussive work, without to forget also the saxophones and flutes of Manuel Hernia responsible for many of the atmospheres of the musics. Jazz First quality avantgarde jazz that will please until those that doesn't likes the style. Contacts: www.carbon7.com  / carbon7records@compuserve.com  (EF) 5

SONUS UMBRA – Snapshots from Limbo – (CD - Moonchild - Mexico).It is a pleasure to listen this conceptual cd from Mexico. For those who think the original Progressive Rock is dead, it is a cabal proof they are mistaken! Try to remember Supertramp, Pink Floyd, former Genesis, King Crimson, Yes, ELP and Alan parson Project. Now, take three of those dinosaurs groups and bring them as just one re-alived, like a phoenix! So, take former Genesis (with Peter Gabriel), Pink Floyd and Alan Parsons, for example, mix all of them and you have this “Sonus Umbra”. Yes, this band previously known as Radio Silence is from Mexico and when you listen to those beautiful continuous songs, you feel yourself travelling through unknown deserts, flying over Mexico, Sahara, and then intro cosmic space...and you feel yourself a new cosmic person, that has no land, but paradoxally owned by holy earth (and cosmic space). Well, to finish, while this CD is playing, as told, sometimes you feel the anguish of Pink Floyd (even when you focus your eyes to the CD cover), sometimes you raise with Genesis in the old times (or Marillion), and you are thrown to the voice of Alan Parsons project  (“Tales of Mystery and Imagination-Edgar Allan Poe” and “The turn of a friendly card”, remember? ). But do not be afraid: although this band remember those mentioned groups, it has a particular and solid personality. Try it!!!! You will be not remorseful, but your both body and soul will thank gods! Contacts: nasser@wam.umd.edu  (Gazy Andarus)

SUFFOCATE - Lustforheaven (CD - EErebos Productions - Slovakia) Modern, insane, technical and brutal grind death in the line of another european legendary grind acts but SUFFOCATE have an precious sense of melody creating personal rifs! "Industrial Soulgrind" is an extreme exemple of good grind hymn with crushing technical rifs in light velocity, the band have another great exemples of it in this good album: "Mindnet", "No More" and the abusive/insane/grotesque title song (8 minutes of grind experiences that will destroy your mind!). The label EREBOS from Slovakia is a new cradle of legendary grind acts! SUFFOCATE yourself!! Contacts: Label - www.erebosproductions.com / psycho@erebosproductions.com  Band - embolismsk@hotmail.com (OE)

TEARS OF DEACAY - Redemption (MCD - Self Produced - Germany). Good band coming from Germany. TEARS OF DEACAY presents a death/grind extremely mature in that MCD, since it is its first work. The powerful influences are NAPALM DEATH, CARCASS & ENTOMBED and the great prominence of MCD is drummer's work, without doubt one of the fastest and aggressive that I already listened! The layer of the CD is sad, an image of relatives in search of  theirs deads in a rainy battle field! Contacts: MEden@gmx.de  (OE)

TERROR SQUAD - The Wild Stream of Eternal Sin (CD - World Chaos Production - Japan) - The guys of Terror Squad are the new warriors of real thrash metal coming from Japan !!!! Your music remember us the most rotten / agressive albums of VOI VOD, SODOM & KREATOR!!! They raised the flame of true thrash metal and fucked posers and melodic tendencies in the lyrics, how in insane " Disco Bloody Disco ", nor VOI VOD was so torn! Insanity, agressivity, powerful and bloody rifs, when we listen this album we banging our heads to the end of times! The art work of the album is great too. Contacts: Label - worldkdm@syd.odn.ne.jp   Band - kawaguch@ua.airnet.ne.jp   (OE)

THEATRE OF THE MACABRE - A Paradise in Flesh & Bloood (CD - Root of All Evil - USA). Marvelous debut full lenght coming from legendary american label Root Of All Evil! THEATRE OF THE MACABRE have in its formation the magician of dark atmospheres "Le"Rue Delashay" and your debut live performance in 2000 Milwaukee Metalfest was celebrated by all avantgarde black metal lovers around the world! The musics of this CD are great dark symphonies with climatics midtempos and organic keyboards. Songs like the fabulous "Forsaken in the Garden of Earthly Delights" are a complex mix of old black metal school and new melodic black metal. Creepy cover art in the line of Clive Barker's art and books. This band is a new dark nightmare from hell!! Listen now (with devil's signature!). Contacts: www.rootofallevil.com / root@rootofallevil.com  (EF)

THE ATTACK OF THE DRAGONS - A Tribute to Queen ( CD Compilation - Adrenaline Records - Italy ). To do a tribute to Queen isn't easy, first task because it is one of thebest bands of rock of all the times including two geniuses of the music in its formation Bryan May & Fred Mercury, second because the band possesses dozens of great music and it is very difficult to do a selection without leaving great classic of out. In that tribute we have 12 bands, each one making a music and the general result is very good. The CD begins with a good version for " We Will Rock " done by SEASONS OF THE WOLF (USA), later EVIL WINGS (Italy) makes a medium version of " KILLER QUEEN " and it is followed by a brilliant version of " Save Me " by the Spanish band AVALANCH. JESSE JONES PROJECT (USA) is responsible for a weak version of " Now I'm Here ", proceeded by well-aimed and inspired " The Show Must Go On " of melodic AZTEC JADE (USA) later we have weak " You're My Best Friend " of MARCI GELLER (USA) and the correct ' Another One Bites The Dust " of HOTROD OTIS (USA), VIGHILIA makes the best version of the whole CD for Innuendo, with insane vocals and feeling metal!! Followed "Dragon Attack " weak version done by GRAFFITI CIRCUS (USA). " Fat Bottomed Girls " had an inspirated rock/n'roll version made by THE LAST BAND ON EARTH (USA), SPREAD MIND (Italy) makes a version with great guitars for " One Vision". MAYBEBOP'S from germany, CD's last band, doesn't do well trying to play classic " Bohemian Rhapsody ". In the general a work that will please to the QUEEN's fans and of the good music. Contacts: www.adrenaline.it  / info@adrenaline.it  (OE) 

TIME CURVE SYMMETRY - Vagrants - (MCD - Self Produced - France) - Now wwe observed a growth of Prog Metal bands in the whole planet, that growth is the recent result of the success of bands as DREAM THEATER & STRATOVARIOUS. TIME CURVE SYMMETRY comes from France and it presents an interesting work in that first MCD, with flowing and complex compositions ( influenced by FATES WARNING), maintaining the melody and the weight in all the songs, and taking a risk to include some moments death metal as in interesting " Own Private Enemy " and some terrible influences of RAP. The layer of the CD is beautiful and the production is good but the mix presents some problems (the vocal is moved in some parts). New Promise of the French Prog Metal. Contacts: http://tcs.free.fr  /  tcs_contact@hotmail.with  (OE)

TORTURE SQUAD - Asylum of Shadows (CD - Destroyer - Brazil) . That fenomenal TORTURE SQUAD's second album places the band definitively inside the great names of the history of the Brazilian death metal. Marvelous guitars, rage vocals, technical drums & bass with intense death feelings!!! This album is more brutal than the debut when the band sound was influenced by 80's thrash/death, in the new masterpiece we can listen great influences of brutal death. After the success of KRISIUN that will be, without doubts, one of the new revelations of the Brazilian metal for the world. It is enough we hear hymns as " Murder of God " & " Agonies in Your Brain" to feel our soul to freeze and our head to balance. Contacts: www.TortureSquadBand.cjb.net / torture_squad@uol.com.br (EF) 5

WALHALLA - Firereich (CD - Root of All Evil - Finland) - What to think of a band thaat gathers members of creepy acts as THY SERPENT, SOULGRIND & macabre GLOOMY GRIM?? It's a reunion of masters of crude, insane, agressive & dark music! Firereich is a masterpice of black/thrash/death metal influenced by old acts like BATHORY & MAYHEM and by the brutal death's american scene: CANNIBAL CORPSE, DEICIDE, DEEDS of FLESH. The atmosphere of musics sounds like infernal viking battles, the rifs are killing speed guns. In some moments we can listen great melodic guitars like in the insane music "Warsong666". LONG LIFE TO WALHALLA VIKING METAL WARRIORS! Contacts: www.rootofallevil.com / root@rootofallevil.com  (EF)

WITCH-HUNT - Souls Enshrouded Fire (CD - X-Rated Records - USA). That CD is a great surprise because the cover isn't very interesting and the name of the band is derivative and common, when I listened the CD, I was without expectations. I was surprised with the creativity, energy and melodic sense of that american band of majestic black death metal. The work of guitars and keyboards are incredible, resulting in epic and eloquent musics like " Under Black Celestial Skies ", "Forever Burning" & " Into Infinite Astral Darkness". The band have only two members: Erik Sayenga (D/G/V) & Seth Newton (G/B/K) but the sound mass that create it is worthy of giving envy to many sextets! For we hear while we danced with the death! Contacts: Contacts: Label - www.xratedrec.com   / info@xratedrec.com /  Band - WtcHunt@aol.com (OE)