CD Review: Page 21

Artist: Cold

Album: 13 Ways To Bleed Onstage

Label: Geffen

The Review: To say I almost fell asleep reviewing this CD is serioulsy not a lie.  I thought it was from my lack of sleep lately then I decided that its because this CD is a major full blown snooze fest.  Let me put it this way...imagine the Gavin from Bush teaming up with Staind on downers.  What really cracks me up is the title of this band that really is not to far from the mark.  That and I think they try to sound scary by naming their CD "13 Ways To Bleed Onstage" and by throwing the occasional f**k and mother f**ker into a song or two.  Some tracks almost pull out the boring waste land of this boring disc but fail to keep an interest for more than a second or two.  So if you like depressing and boring nu-metal scene (if you are still on this earth that is) check this one out. Other than that...have a good nights sleep to this one.  

Recommended Radio Friendly Tracks: 2, 11, 12

Overall Grade: F- MTPF 9/7/00

Artist: Nothingface

Album: Violence

Label: TVT

The Review: Heavy as hell and taking no prisoners yet sensative and melodic, Nothingface comes stinging back with a new release that will be rocking college air waves for a long time! The band almost define perfection in vocals which are a great mix of melodic, hardcore, and nu-metal styles.  The music itself is impressive as well and doesn't really run to far in the heavy or light direction.  Rather, it stays right in the middle providing the listener with just enough "umfff"  to keep the music interesting yet doesn't scare off the average listener all the same.  The guitar work keep along the themes of the singing as well providing a great mix of heavy riffs and melodies that blend well with the vocals at every given moment.  Have Nothingface discovered the perfect mix for all metal fans regardless if they like their metal heavy or light?  Quite possibly but I can only say so much...check this one out and judge for yourself!

Recommended Radio Friendly Tracks: (some may have swears but you can't tell)
1, 2, 5, 6, 9,

Overall Grade: B- to B+ MTPF 9/7/00

Artist: Nile

Album: Black Seed With Vengenance

Label: Relapse

The Review: Death metal is good...death metal with a theme other than evil, destruction, and hate is sometimes better.  In this case, the well known death metal band Nile takes the genre on an interesting trip not only exploring what Egyptian music would sound like with the agressive style of unrelenting death metal. They mix Egyptian stories and legends (lyric wise) into their music as well.  Very much along the lines of Therion (yet not totally over done when it comes to world music) this band provides an interesting mix of tracks that combine the sounds of Arabia and the vicious thrash of hard hitting metal.  Some tracks however either have one or the other.  Tracks 4,5,10,11, and 12 only have Egyptian influence while the other tracks either provide for a mix of the two or mainly just rock out.  Either way...check this one out if you like a bit of variety when it comes to death metal.  I have always thought Arabian sounds mixed with metal provided the perfect mix of dark and seductive music...judge for yourself!

Recommended Radio Freindly Tracks: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12

Overall Grade: B+ to A- MTPF 9/8/00

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