
  _______ __                     __      __                      ___ 
 |   _   |  |--.----.-----.-----|__.----|  .-----.-----. .-----.'  _|
 |.  1___|     |   _|  _  |     |  |  __|  |  -__|__ --| |  _  |   _|
 |.  |___|__|__|__| |_____|__|__|__|____|__|_____|_____| |_____|__|  
 |:  1   |                                                          
 |::.. . |                                                          
 `-------'                                                          
                   _______ __                      
                  |   _   |  |--.---.-.-----.-----.
                  |.  1___|     |  _  |  _  |__ --|
                  |.  |___|__|__|___._|_____|_____|
                  |:  1   |                        
                  |::.. . |                        
                  `-------'                        
                                 

     CHRONICLES OF CHAOS e-Zine, Thursday, May 4, 2003, Issue #61
                   http://www.ChroniclesOfChaos.com


Co-Editor / Founder: Gino Filicetti
Co-Editor / Contributor: Pedro Azevedo
Contributor: Adrian Bromley
Contributor: Brian Meloon
Contributor: Paul Schwarz
Contributor: Aaron McKay
Contributor: David Rocher
Contributor: Matthias Noll
Contributor: Alvin Wee
Contributor: Chris Flaaten
Contributor: Quentin Kalis
Contributor: Xander Hoose
Contributor: Adam Lineker
Neophyte: Adrian Magers
Neophyte: James Montague
Spiritual Guidance: Alain M. Gaudrault

The   individual   writers   can   be   reached    by    e-mail    at 
firstname.lastname@ChroniclesOfChaos.com.                            
     (e.g. Gino.Filicetti@ChroniclesOfChaos.com).

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Issue #61 Contents, 5/4/2003
----------------------------
* Editorial
* Chats
-- Amon Amarth: At War With the World
-- Overkill: Alive and Breathing
* Albums
-- 40 Below Summer - _Invitation to the Dance_
-- Abscess - _Through the Cracks of Death_
-- Amon Amarth - _Versus the World_
-- Anthrax - _We've Come for You All_
-- Baptism - _The Beherial Midnight_
-- Behemoth - _Zos Kia Cultus - Here and Beyond_
-- Bethlehem - _Suicide Radio_
-- Bile - _Demonic Electronic_
-- Black Witchery - _Desecration of the Holy Kingdom_
-- Blood Duster - _DFF_
-- Bloodbath - _Resurrection Through Carnage_
-- Carpathian Forest - _Defending the Throne of Evil_
-- Cephalic Carnage - _Halls of Amenti_
-- Cephalic Carnage / Anal Blast - _Split_
-- Clandestine Blaze - _Fist of the Northern Destroyer_
-- Daemonlord - _Aarstrand_
-- Dark Fortress - _Profane Genocidal Creations_
-- Darkthrone - _Hate Them_
-- Destroyer 666 - _Cold Steel... For an Iron Age_
-- Destruktor - _Brutal Desecration_
-- Dissimulation - _Maras_
-- Endless Time - _Ancient Tales_
-- Engine - _Superholic_
-- Entombed - _Sons of Satan, Praise the Lord_
-- Estrogenocide - _Estrogenocide_
-- Finnugor - _Black Flames_
-- Funeral Inception - _Anthems of Disenchantment_
-- Gospel of the Horns - _A Call to Arms_
-- Graveland - _Memory and Destiny_
-- Hand of Doom - _Dreams of Resurrection_
-- Internecine - _The Book of Lambs_
-- Kaliban - _The Tempest of Thoughts_
-- Katatonia - _Viva Emptiness_
-- Kittie - _Safe_
-- Koldborn - _First Enslavement_
-- L.Minygwal - _E'er_
-- Lunaris - _...the Infinite._
-- Macabre Minstrels - _Morbid Campfire Songs_
-- Ministry - _Animositisomina_
-- Morgue - _The Process to Define the Shape of Self-Loathing_
-- My Shameful - _Of All the Wrong Things_
-- Mykorrhiza - _Mykorrhiza_
-- Nagelfar - _Virus West_
-- Nazxul - _Live_
-- Overkill - _Wrecking Everything: An Evening in Asbury Park_
-- Project: Failing Flesh - _Beautiful Sickness_
-- Quo Vadis - _Passage in Time_
-- Rapture - _Songs for the Withering_
-- Revenge - _Triumph, Genocide, Antichrist_
-- Sammath - _Verwoesting - Devastation_
-- Sargatanas Reign - _Euthanasia... Last Resort_
-- Satanic Warmaster - _Black Katharsis_
-- Serpent Eclipse - _The Seven Desires & Wolves' Blood_
-- Shadows Fall - _The Art of Balance_
-- Slaine - _NON_
-- Solstafir - _Black Death_
-- Stand-Up Guy - _Immobiliare_
-- Strapping Young Lad - _SYL_
-- Tefra - _7/10ths to Madness_
-- Teratism - _Ex Infernus_
-- The Prophecy - _Ashes_
-- The Quill - _Voodoo Caravan_
-- Thy Repentance / Nuclear Winter - _Split_
-- Tomahawk - _Tomahawk_
-- UDO - _Man and Machine_
-- Until Death Overtakes Me - _Prelude to Monolith_
-- Uphill Battle - _Uphill Battle_
-- Vader - _Revelations_
-- Various - _Better Undead Than Alive_
-- Verdict - _Reflections of Pain_
-- Ywolf  - _Trilogy of the Night_
* Demos
-- Big Baby Satan - _Big Baby Satan_
-- Frantic Bleep - _Fluctuadmission_
-- Indesinence - _Ecstatic Lethargy_
-- Manifold Object - _Mirrorlike_
-- Nattstrype - _Where No Life Exists_
 - Nattstrype - _Skapad Ur Morkrets All Helveteskap_
 - Nattstrype - _The Art of Misanthropy_
* Gigs
-- Shadows Fall Over Columbus, Ohio

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                    __, __, _ ___  _, __, _  _, _, 
                    |_  | \ |  |  / \ |_) | /_\ |  
                    |   |_/ |  |  \ / | \ | | | | ,
                    ~~~ ~   ~  ~   ~  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~

                N E W    A N D    N O T E W O R T H Y 
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   A reflection of our first month
                          by: Gino Filicetti


So it's been a month, and things are  going  smoother  than  I  ever 
would've expected. Since the unveiling  of  the  new  Chronicles  of 
Chaos, we've been consistently publishing approximately 20  articles 
every 4 or 5 days. I know this is an amazing amount of material, but 
it is actually the backlog of material from  our  6  month  absence. 
With this last batch of material recently published we've completely 
worked through our back log; from  here  on  in,  articles  will  be 
published as soon as they are submitted and proofread.               

It has also been a month since our message board went live. So  far, 
73 people have signed up for an account. Things have yet  to  really 
get rolling, but I'm hoping more of our readers will stop in to join 
the discussion. All we need is your involvement.                     

Also released at the beginning of  this  month  was  our  first  CoC 
digest. As predicted, our digest looked almost identical to  an  old 
school issue of  Chronicles  of  Chaos  thereby  appeasing  the  CoC 
purists.                                                             

Our latest batch of material features the debut of two new  writers. 
Adrian Magers hails from the strip malls and trailer parks of  Ohio. 
Now officially our youngest staffer, this  guy  lives  and  breathes 
metal and all things extreme. Some of you may recognize  our  second 
writer, James Montague, from his own  album  review  page:  Ager  de 
Semine Obscura (http://www.geocities.com/james_montague). James has 
decided to throw his hat in the ring and take up the CoC  cause.  As 
our first Australian  contributor,  we're  hoping  to  get  a  fresh 
perspective out of him (if living in London hasn't  already  tainted 
him, that is). We're proud to have both of these guys on  board  and 
look forward to their many contributions to come.                    

Make sure you spend a few minutes  browsing  our  new  Current  Picks
section as well. There you can find up to date  information  on  what
each member of the CoC staff is cranking most often.

Enjoy the new material everyone! Head over to the CoC Message  Board 
(http://www.chroniclesofchaos.com/board), sign up, and let  us  know 
what you think of the new Chronicles of Chaos now that a  month  has 
passed.                                                              

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                          _, _,_  _, ___  _,
                         / ` |_| /_\  |  (_ 
                         \ , | | | |  |  , )
                          ~  ~ ~ ~ ~  ~   ~ 

            A T    W A R    W I T H    T H E    W O R L D 
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
          CoC has a little chat with a war-mongering viking
                          by: Chris Flaaten


Amon Amarth were doing  interviews  to  promote  their  great  album 
_Versus the World_ and due to geographical proximity,  I  was  given 
the honour of chatting with vocalist Johan Hegg. There was a  slight 
problem though: insanely short notice, and the fact  that  I  didn't 
know Amon Amarth's music too well. Fortunately, I don't need to know 
much since I am after all the  guy  asking  the  questions.  I  went 
straight to the point and asked  Johan  to  talk  a  bit  about  the 
recording of their newest release.                                   

"We are extremely happy with the new album. There were quite  a  few 
things we did differently this  time.  First  of  all,  we  had  the 
material 100% ready before we entered the studio.  We  also  used  a 
different studio this time  around,  because  Tagtgren's  Abyss  was 
fully booked. We chose to work at Berno Studio and are quite pleased 
with the result."                                                    

What about the content?

"We pushed on in every direction this time and basically added  more 
of everything. It's more epic, more varied and has more melodies. We 
have retained our previous brutality too, I think.  Olli  [Mikkonen, 
guitars], who creates all the music, sees music in a great  way  and 
creates unique melodies and harmonies. This has allowed us  to  find 
our own niche within melodic death metal, instead  of  melting  into 
the Gothenburg scene. I  think  we  have  distanced  ourselves  even 
further from other acts with our new album, because it is  100%  us. 
No compromise this time."                                            

So, how have the reactions been from press, fans and label?

"The reviews so far have  been  amazing,  and  that's  of  course  a 
positive thing for us. The fans have seemed to like it so  far  too, 
so it's all good. Metal Blade has been very supportive, and  we  are 
very satisfied with them. We have a very open  and  honest  dialogue 
with their German office, and they lets us do our own thing."        

After doing no less than three tours after _The Crusher_, it  should 
come as no surprise that the band  will  be  performing  live  again 
shortly.                                                             

"We are currently negotiating a US tour, but nothing is certain yet. 
We'll be playing at the Wacken Tour in April with bands like  Sodom, 
Tom Angelripper and Mob Rules. We're also  confirmed  to  play  some 
festivals, including Bang Your Head, Summer Breeze and Decibel."     

So... everywhere but your homeland then?

"We played at the annual Close-up party in Stockholm in November and 
that went really well. Sweden is a dead market for us,  though.  Our 
brand of death metal doesn't really do much for  our  countrymen  it 
seems, unlike the Gothenburg scene and especially In Flames who sell 
tons of records in Sweden. We also  face  a  lot  of  prejudice  and 
misunderstandings here. Some have called us racist  because  of  our 
Viking lyrics, which is completely ridiculous  of  course.  We  even 
have a multi-cultural line-up, for crying out loud! But  we're  used 
to fighting against our surroundings. Versus the  world,  you  know? 
The lyrics on the album deal a lot with ourselves,  really.  It's  a 
concept album about Ragnarok, but it can also be  used  to  describe 
our own situation."                                                  

Since it seems like Amon Amarth is out of  place  within  Sweden,  I 
guess you draw inspiration mostly from non-Swedish bands?            

"Yes. Absolutely. We listens to all kinds of music, of course, but I 
know Olli is a huge fan of bands like Slayer, Motorhead and Merciful 
Fate. The good, old stuff, you know?"                                

Sadly, I was out of questions a bit ahead of schedule,  and  had  to 
let Johan go. If I had actually had a  chance  to  listen  to  their 
discography before doing this thing, I would have  had  at  least  a 
couple more questions -- and a lot of  praise,  because  their  last 
album features some really outstanding songs. I suggest you use  the 
spare time 'created' by the shortness of  this  interview  to  visit 
your local record store and purchase _Versus the World_.             

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

               A L I V E    A N D    B R E A T H I N G 
               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
               CoC talks to Bobby Ellsworth of Overkill
                          by: Adrian Bromley


I think it is safe to say that Overkill  lead  singer  Bobby  "Blitz"
Ellsworth talks more than me -- which is quite impressive.  Like  his
rapid-fire screams on stage, his offstage chattering is  pretty  much
the same: loud and expressive. And much like the last  four  times  I
have talked to Ellsworth, he has a sure lot  on  his  plate  to  talk
about this time: the band's new  album  _Killbox  13_,  working  with
producer Colin Richardson and his near death experience from a stroke
last summer.

Let the gabbing begin...

"The process of making record  after  record  is  very  similar,  and
obviously we have a formula that works for us, but what it comes down
to is if you [the fans] like the record  or  not",  starts  Ellsworth
about the creative process. "We've always put everything of  what  we
had into each album. We hold what we do with very high esteem and  we
always work extra hard to get the best out of each recording. We have
been very lucky to have been doing this over two decades now. When it
comes to the process sometimes you get different results, but  it  is
also relatively predictable of where an Overkill album  is  going  to
fall. What you don't know is how far from the mark it will hit."

I think it is safe to say the album was pretty close to  what  people
wanted with an Overkill album in 2003.

"True. I love this record. I'm always the guy who says the record  is
too new and I don't want to talk about it. The thing that makes  this
record stand out is the cohesiveness of it all. There  is  just  this
fucking vibe that is going on. If any particular  song  was  missing,
say "Struck Down", this album would feel a lot lighter  and  that  is
the way I feel about it. I have always said that Overkill  has  never
abandoned their past and I think this record is the truest definition
of that. We [the band is rounded out by bassist D.D.  Verni,  drummer
Tim Mallare and guitarists Dave Linsk and Derek Tailer -- Adrian] are
in a position to blend together the present with the  roads  we  have
walked on prior but still by doing  so  it  just  helps  us  reinvent
things or make it seem fresher."

And no  doubt  bringing  producer  Colin  Richardson  (Fear  Factory,
Machine Head) in as producer for _Killbox 13_ helped shake things  up
as well too, right?

"Yeah, it was great to work with him and have him grab the  reins  of
this record from the beginning", notes the singer. "We have a lot  of
respect for Colin and  he  has  a  great  understanding  between  the
guitars and drums on a record and that is what makes a metal  record.
No matter what metal album he has worked  on,  and  there  have  been
many, you can always hear this sound and connection. It has been  ten
years since we worked with a producer and for some guy to tell us  we
could do things better, I was thinking to myself, 'Who the  fuck  are
you? I'll knock you right out of that chair  you  limey  fuck!'",  he
says, laughing. "But you know what?  It  worked!  I  have  a  lot  of
respect for the man -- plus he is a nut. He is stage diving  off  the
console in the studio and he just got so wrapped up in this  project.
It is almost as if he wrote the songs and we are performing them. You
gotta love that commitment and  that  is  just  another  rediscovered
element that has made this record that of a higher level."

For some reason, I hear (no pun intended) a lot of _I Hear Black_  in
this album. Because you said before that the  album  takes  from  the
past and brings into the future to some degree, when  you  play  back
this album, do you hear different eras of the band?

Ellsworth agrees and  offers  up,  "I  hear  many  similarities  with
records from the past but  again  that  is  from  the  standpoint  of
reinvention. I hear sometimes  a  little  bit  of  _Taking  Over_  on
"Unholy". I most certainly hear _I Hear Black_ on "Crystal Clear", as
well as _Necroshine_ on "Devil by the Tail" and a _Years of Decay_  /
"Elimination" feel on "Damned". I mean that  is  just  a  few  of  my
thoughts, but you can really go through the new  album  and  see  and
hear a definitive blend of what Overkill sounds like. This  band  has
had a lot of personalities and that  has  always  carried  over  into
Overkill's music."

And thankfully -- unlike some of metal's other veteran acts  --  none
of the modern sounds  of  today's  music  has  seeped  its  way  into
Overkill's music over the years.

"Exactly. First and foremost,  the  music  we  create  is  all  about
Overkill. I don't care what kind of music Fred Durst is  putting  out
or what Korn are doing right now. Bands  like  Audioslave,  Metallica
and Testament are doing what they want and have no say in how  we  go
about doing stuff. I run my band as a business and we do  things  our
way only, and by having that philosophy we don't end up polluting the
pool. We are able to swim in our pool and do what we want  and  don't
let those others in it. To some degree that might have stifled us  in
the past at certain times, but the other side of the coin is that  we
are still having this conversation. There has to be some validity  in
what I am saying. Maybe James [Hetfield; Metallica] is laughing at me
all the way to the bank, but I am counting my success in days."

And while Ellsworth (and the band) has  had  to  take  on  the  music
industry over the past few years, he alone has also had to deal  with
a lot of other serious issues plaguing his health over the  last  few
years -- one notable incident was a stroke he had last year while  on
tour in Nuremberg, Germany. After all that you have been through  and
to have carried on, you are indeed a trooper. It is a  miracle,  when
you think about it.

"It is either tenacity or stupidity", comes the bellowing laugh  from
the frontman. "We'll never know really  what  it  is  that  has  kept
myself or the band around this long, but we go  on.  The  thing  that
makes it all worth it right now is that this album is  very  full  of
life. Events in your life are what make you who  you  are.  Everybody
has their crosses to bear and I had mine happen in public while I was
onstage, when I am twitching and foaming at  the  mouth.  That  would
have looked great had  we  captured  that  for  the  DVD!",  he  adds
humorously.

"The next day after the incident the president of Spitfire called  me
while I was in the hospital and I apologized, saying, 'I'm  sorry  we
didn't have a camera there. They said my eyes were  all  rolled  back
into my head and I was twitching crazy onstage'", he  says,  laughing
hysterically.

He finishes off, "What you see  is  what  you  get  with  myself  and
Overkill. We've known each other for sometime  now,  Adrian,  and  it
doesn't mean I am going to be Mr. Happy and Joyful next time you  see
me, but quite obviously I have my principles, which I hold very  dear
to myself, and I live by these fucking  things.  It  is  isn't  about
throwing out all the bullshit and when the chips  are  down  to  just
pack it up. Hopefully someday on my gravestone  it  will  say,  'They
finally got me to lay down for good'", he laughs.  "The  thing  about
all that has happened to me  is  all  that  I  am  faced  with  these
choices: can I live in the problem or can I live through the problem?
These are the only two choices I have always faced and I have  chosen
to live through them. It is just the Overkill way."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                       _, _,  __, _,_ _, _  _,
                      / \ |   |_) | | |\/| (_ 
                      |~| | , |_) | | |  | , )
                      ~ ~ ~~~ ~   `~' ~  ~  ~ 

Scoring:  10 out of 10 -- A masterpiece indeed
           9 out of 10 -- Highly recommended
           7 out of 10 -- Has some redeeming qualities
           5 out of 10 -- You are treading in dangerous waters
           3 out of 10 -- Nothing here worth looking into
           0 out of 10 -- An atrocious album, avoid at all costs!

40 Below Summer - _Invitation to the Dance_  
by: Aaron McKay  (3 out of 10)  (Warner Brothers / Reprise, 2001)

Why I received this album -so- late is beyond me. It is now  June  at
the time of writing -- six months into 2002 and I just got this CD in
the last couple of weeks. Why? Is the  company  giving  this  band  a
final push in a not-so-mainstream outlet  for  metal?  Possibly,  but
CoC?! 40 Below Summer is what I call radio metal. You know, Alien Ant
Farm, Disturbed, Linkin Park and the like.  Positively  riddled  from
beginning to the welcome end with non-stop monotony like a  mandatory
week long insurance seminar. The catchy production on _Invitation  to
the Dance_ is obviously attributed  to  GGGarth  Richardson  (Kittie,
Ozzy, Rage Against the Machine), but he had very little to work with.
It's tough to make eggs with just a skillet, fire and  Pam  non-stick
spray -- know what I mean? This is your brain. This is your brain  on
40 Below Summer...

Contact: http://www.40belowsummer.com


Abscess - _Through the Cracks of Death_  (Peaceville, 2002)
by: Paul Schwarz  (8 out of 10)

Many a rabid Autopsy fan has maligned  Chris  Reifert  and  company's
work as Abscess over the near-ten years since the former dissolved to
give birth to the latter; but since the release of 2001's _Tormented_
the majority of Autopsy fans have warmed to Abscess. Perhaps  it  was
because their Listenable Records debut injected a  big,  urine-soaked
shot of Autopsy into the punky grindcore sound of early releases like
_Urine Junkies_ -- an unsurprising turn of events when  you  remember
that _Tormented_ essentially reunited the _Mental  Funeral_  line-up.
To these ears at least, _Tormented_ was a clear  cut  above  anything
Abscess had delivered previously, but still failed to rank much above
"good"  in  my  estimation.  _Through  the  Cracks  of  Death_  is  a
distinct improvement. Acid-drenched as much in the sense of a  smiley
face on a blotter as a  melting  one  in  a  gutter,  Abscess'  fifth
full-length blends the necrotic sonics of Autopsy --  the  "chainsaw"
guitars, mid-range-boosted,  "clacky"  drums  and  brown-noise-worthy
bass -- with catchy, rockin' riffs and  structuring  tricks.  Lively,
thrashy, rockin' little ditties like opener "Raping  the  Multiverse"
or  follow-on  "Mourners  Will  Burn"  are  juxtaposed  by  creaking,
doom-and-dirge-ridden death-trips like "An Asylum Below" or "Die  For
Today" to form an album that is pleasantly varied, but  unfortunately
lacking in both consistency and considered structuring -- the  latter
principally applying to the album's closing three tracks.  More  than
merely "good" and of  probable  interest  to  fans  and  non-fans  of
Autopsy alike, _TtCoD_ is  a  worthy  entry  into  the  "progressive"
sub-section of  the  gore  metal  canon,  despite  falling  a  marked
distance short of the "innovative" one.

Contact: http://www.peaceville.com


Amon Amarth - _Versus the World_  (Metal Blade, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8.5 out of 10)

Maybe it's just  because  I  had  relatively  low  expectations  for 
_Versus the World_, but it has managed to surprise me in  more  than 
one way. First of all, it's a  nice  touch  that  Metal  Blade  have 
released a special double-CD version which, for a  bit  more  money, 
gives you Amon Amarth's two demos and their _Sorrow  Throughout  the 
Nine Worlds_ EP [CoC #12]. The band has also moved to  Berno  Studio 
and produced the album by themselves  rather  than  staying  at  the 
Abyss with  Peter  Tagtgren,  which  resulted  in  a  different  (if 
slightly less impressive) sound. But most importantly, whereas I had 
envisioned _Versus the World_  as  most  likely  proving  that  Amon 
Amarth had stagnated and become a thoroughly predictable band,  they 
have actually managed to tweak their music in such a way  that  they 
have stuck to everything Amon Amarth have been  about  in  the  past 
while adding some interesting touches  and  subtle  variations.  The 
fact is that while I had expected  to  grow  tired  of  _Versus  the 
World_ very quickly, it ended up among the  three  or  four  records 
I've spun the most in recent months. Anyone who has kept an  eye  on 
Amon Amarth over the years is likely to notice  the  ways  in  which 
they have matured on this remarkably consistent album.  _Versus  the 
World_ can be heavy and percussive when Amon  Amarth  want,  it  can 
hook you with dynamic buzzsaw riffs, or it  can  go  into  a  doomy, 
disenchanted mood. Above  all,  it  manages  to  keep  the  listener 
interested throughout. I am especially pleased by the way they  have 
successfully incorporated  some  more  doom  influences  into  their 
sound, resulting in some excellent contrast with the  more  defiant, 
aggressive sections. The result is a great album that excels both in 
the Swedish death metal department and the doomier  aspects,  making 
it a recommended purchase. One more thing, though: can you  -please- 
make a slightly more distinctive front cover for one of your  future 
albums?                                                              

Contact: http://www.amonamarth.com


Anthrax - _We've Come for You All_  (Nuclear Blast, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (9 out of 10)

It's quite a shock to realize that even though five long  years  have
passed since the last Anthrax album, it could  just  as  easily  have
been ten. That's not to say that neither _Stomp 442_ nor  _Volume  8:
The Threat Is Real_ were any good, but they never managed to top  the
_Sound of White Noise_ album, which is considered  one  of  the  best
Anthrax albums ever and definitely the best Bush-era one.

However,  instead  of  slowly  fading  into  obscurity,  Anthrax  has
vigorously worked on their  tenth  album  (not  counting  _Attack  of
the Killer B's_) which is  also  being  released  exactly  ten  years
after their _SoWN_  masterpiece.  _We've  Come  for  You  All_  is  a
no-holds-barred monstertruck ride, easily capable of satisfying  both
younger and older fans with its fine-tuned compromise between  thrash
metal, melodic rock and a fine dose of groove. "Refuse to Be Denied",
"Safe Home" and "Think About an End" have the same hit potential that
"Only" had, while the threesome "What Doesn't Die"  /  "Nobody  Knows
Anything" / "We've Come for You All" belong to the list of  Anthrax's
most  powerful  songs,  featuring  excellent  drumming  and  riffing.
Charlie Benante claims a prominent  role  throughout  the  album  and
seems to be less afraid of showing his skills  as  a  drummer,  while
newcomer Rob Caglione proves to be a fine addition to the band,  with
Anthrax now having room for twin guitar parts.

Experimental songs can also be found on _WCfYA_: "Black Dahlia" comes
as close to death metal as Anthrax will ever get. "Cadillac Rock Box"
is a very laid-back Californian-style rock song, and those who manage
to get their hands on the digipak edition  of  this  album  can  also
listen to the acoustic version of "Safe Home" and a Ramones cover.

Anthrax seems to be back on track, that's for  sure.  Without  making
artistic or commercial compromises, they manage to sound natural  and
honest and still cater to the needs of both  older  and  newer  fans.
Provided this album receives proper promotion, Anthrax will once more
be a force to be reckoned with.

Contact: http://www.anthrax.com


Baptism - _The Beherial Midnight_  (Northern Heritage, 2002)
by: Matthias Noll  (7.5 out of 10)

More Finnish blackness from the excellent  Northern  Heritage  label.
Needless to say that Baptism play  underground  black  metal  without
keyboards, female vocals or other ingredients that separate the  true
from the false in the black metal  courtroom.  Baptism  differentiate
themselves from  the  pack  by  concentrating  on  a  more  mid-paced
approach and even inserting some  traditional-sounding  metal  riffs,
which for a change do not bear the Tom G. Warrior brand. Between some
speedier and more aggressive tracks, _The Beherial  Midnight_  mainly
radiates depression, melancholy and sorrow.  The  atmosphere,  rather
than the actual execution, makes these Finns comparable to  the  more
depressive acts like Xasthur or  Abyssic  Hate.  Obvious  worship  of
Darkthrone and other "big names" is kept to a rather low  level  here
and I'm positively surprised that mainman Lord Sargofagian  (who  has
recently joined Satanic Warmaster) and his two sinister  brothers  in
arms (Slaughterer on "Four-string Deathsaw" and Demonium handling the
"Hammers of Crucifixion") seem to  have  already  managed  to  secure
their own stylistic niche with this, their first album. However, _The
Beherial Midnight_ does suffer a bit from a production which  is  raw
and unpolished but lacks  bite  and  punch,  and  sounds  a  bit  too
dry. Recorded on savagery level 11  with  additional  distortion  and
sharpness, Baptism's style (especially the more metallic bits,  which
I'd like to hear even more frequently in the future) could become far
more devastating than this.  Nevertheless,  Baptism  show  a  lot  of
potential and this is a  quality  release  that  is  certainly  worth
getting.


Behemoth - _Zos Kia Cultus - Here and Beyond_  
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)  (Avantgarde Music, 2003)

I was thoroughly impressed by Behemoth's  _Satanica_,  which  marked 
the beginning of  Behemoth's  more  overtly  death  metal  era.  Its 
successor _Thelema.6_ also made a considerable impact, but ended  up 
exhibiting a lot less staying power than _Satanica_ -- which means I 
overrated it by one mark. This serves to illustrate the fact that  I 
had mixed expectations when I first opened the massive digipak  that 
comes with the special edition of _Zos Kia Cultus_: on  one  hand  I 
was quite certain Behemoth  would  again  display  their  remarkable 
technical merits, but on the other hand I wasn't  so  sure  I  would 
still be spinning the album a month later. As it turns out, _Zos Kia 
Cultus_ is more of a _Satanica_ than a _Thelema.6_ for me. It shares 
both albums' technical qualities and boasts an  even  more  crushing 
production than they do, but it is a lot  closer  to  _Satanica_  in 
terms of hooks that make you want to go back to it  after  a  while. 
_Zos Kia Cultus_ displays even more of a death metal influence  than 
before, with Morbid Angel and even Nile-like sounds stepping to  the 
forefront here. It is often slower and less frantic than _Satanica_, 
more calculated, and that sometimes lowers  the  intensity  level  a 
notch. I would have liked more of the flowing melodies of  "Blackest 
ov the Black" in place of some of the slightly overused slower riffs 
on a couple of tracks early on in the album.  But  these  are  minor 
complaints, as _Zos Kia Cultus_ shines for its  massive  production, 
superb drum work, intense riffs, and monstrous vocals. If Nergal had 
been a preacher of some sort, he would surely have been able to whip 
vast  audiences  into  a  veritable  frenzy  with  his  distinctive, 
intensely harsh, determined voice.  _Zos  Kia  Cultus_  proves  that 
Behemoth are a huge force in the death metal world  today,  able  to 
stand eye to eye  with  virtually  any  other  band.  Together  with 
Immolation's _Unholy Cult_, Blood Red Throne's _Monument  of  Death_ 
and Bloodbath's _Resurrection Through Carnage_, _Zos Kia Cultus_  is 
(although  for  different  reasons)  among  the  most  powerful  and 
engaging death metal records I've heard in recent years.             

Contact: http://www.behemoth.metalkings.com


Bethlehem - _Suicide Radio_  (Red Stream, 2003)
by: Aaron McKay  (6 out of 10)

Always  changing.  Always  evolving.   Always   creative.   Bethlehem
consistently pushes hard against the grain  of  experimentally  dark,
ambient metal. One thing  remains  the  same  with  these  hopelessly
dispirited German veterans  --  only  change  is  constant  from  one
release to another. Total running time of this 2003 offering into the
furthest reaches of a distorted mind is just over thirty-six minutes.
Generally speaking, the "special edition" of  _Suicide  Radio_  is  a
wickedly intense  glimpse  into  a  graphic  computer  sub-conscience
packed full of multimedia perks. Playing this effort as a regular CD,
however, is not an option; a computer is a must -- and  therein  lies
the rub, Watson! Four movies and five songs await the computer  savvy
Bethlehem fans able to navigate the requirements to launch this disc.
Largely well-done remixes  complete  with  better-than-average  sound
quality haunt Bethlehem's newest release,  but  the  presentation  is
lacking in versatility. While the "extra" CD-ROM bonuses  are  mostly
appreciated, having the option for use in one's car or home CD player
would be pretty high up there on the  necessity  chart.  Depressingly
sadistic in nature, as was intended,  _Suicide  Radio_,  when  placed
into my computer drive, is exactly what  this  band  stands  for:  an
exploration in depravity, abandonment and despair.

Contact: http://www.redstream.org


Bile - _Demonic Electronic_  (Bile Style, 2002)
by: Xander Hoose  (8 out of 10)

I had given up hope on Bile after their horrible _Sex Reflex_  album,
which didn't even get a proper release outside the States. Going from
the excellent _Teknowhore_ to _Sex Reflex_ was like trading  in  your
gothy vamp girlfriend for the fat chick working  at  Burger  King  --
very ugly indeed. With bandmember Krtzoff's solo album _The Nightmare
Before Krtzoff_ (advice: don't buy this load of crap) hitting my desk
a couple of days earlier, I had to admit my  hopes  were  even  lower
than low. So what a surprise when I popped in  _Demonic  Electronic_.
Even though it's not the equal of _Teknowhore_, this album is  a  big
'fuck you' to people who complain that electronics and metal are  not
supposed to be mixed. Heavier than Ministry,  crueler  than  Static-X
and with far better songwriting skills than The Berzerker, Bile  maim
and destroy with electro-deathmetal songs "Legion" and  "The  Devil's
Bile". They slap  the  wrist  of  commercial  pop  with  "Celebrity",
"Clones" and "Jerk", and with highlights like "Prime Time Loser"  and
"Demons", Bile is back at what they do best:  make  crazy  shit.  The
extras (Atkins mix of "Jerk", KMFDM demo of "Teknowhore")  are  nice,
but _Demonic Electronic_ is harsh enough to convince without them.

Contact: http://www.teknowhore.com


Black Witchery - _Desecration of the Holy Kingdom_  
by: Matthias Noll  (7.5 out of 10)  (Full Moon Productions, 2002)

Following the split CD with  Conqueror,  titled  _Hellstorm  of  Evil
Vengeance_, this is the first  full-length  by  Black  Witchery.  The
first booklet page sets the stage quite well by  hailing  "all  Black
Cult WarMetal Terrorist Elitist Goatworshippers who praise  the  true
Black Metal Underground Darkness". Additional salutes  to  Blasphemy,
Conqueror, Revenge and Impiety leave no doubt  which  audience  Black
Witchery are  targeting  with  _Desecration  of  the  Holy  Kingdom_.
Unfortunately the following pictures of the three band  members  look
as menacing as a bunch  of  kids  dressed  up  for  Wimpoween,  which
together with the whole  'trver  than  trve'  attitude  which  is  on
display here starts to  backfire  and  triggers  an  eerie  voice  in
my head  which  keeps  whispering  "poseurs,  poseurs".  Leaving  the
task of identifying  and  eliminating  every  poseur  in  Florida  to
the  re-animated  Nasty  Savage,  I  have  to  say  that  _DotHK_  is
nevertheless quite impressive. This is not as over-the-top as Revenge
or Conqueror, but Black Witchery have at least managed to  record  an
only slightly inferior war metal version of Marduk's  _Panzerdivision
Marduk_. It's mainly the cascading style  of  riffing,  the  rhythmic
vocal delivery and the inexorable blasting from start to finish which
justifies this comparison. Sound-wise, Black Witchery come across  as
a lot dirtier and less polished, and it's the overall approach rather
than the actual chord progressions that makes Marduk come to mind.  I
see  quite  some  room  for  improvement,  especially  in  the  vocal
department --permanently adding a second  voice  or  different  vocal
effects like in the title track could work wonders, reducing some  of
the monotony while upping the violence level  even  further.  Overall
this is quite a decent  record,  but  one  which  ultimately  doesn't
really manage to keep the listener interested from start  to  finish.
Still, a salvo of two or three tracks at the right point in time  can
be a deadly affair, and this could be the right purchase  to  satisfy
your appetite for more war metal once you  give  the  impressive  new
Impiety (_Kaos Kommand 696_) a break.


Blood Duster - _DFF_  (High Voltage Records, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (9 out of 10)

Blood Duster's full-length _Cunt_ received quite some mixed  reviews.
Their return to no-nonsense death metal Aussie-style  was  a  joy  to
those who enjoyed Blood Duster's early material, while fans of  their
later material criticized the lack of groove and rock attitude. _DFF_
(short for "Drink, Fight, Fuck") is an acceptable compromise  between
the two. Even though this EP is very short, with only six minutes  of
actual music -- which includes two splendid GG Allin covers:  "Drink,
Fight, Fuck" and "Let's Fuck"  --  the  remaining  material  gives  a
good idea of the direction  Blood  Duster  is  heading:  short  songs
(none clocking over one minute) that are  very  accessible  and  very
reminiscent of the _Yeest_ songs.  There's  still  the  Blood  Duster
trademark humor (check out "66.6 on Your FM Dial") and the production
is still heavy as a brick. Let's hope there's a  new  full-length  in
the works soon. Two points of critique on this album,  though:  leave
the noise tracks out, and 55 minutes of silence  is  plain  annoying.
The EP is good enough on its own, without the bullshit.

Contact: http://www.bloodduster.com


Bloodbath - _Resurrection Through Carnage_  (Century Media, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (9 out of 10)

Every once in a while, an all-star project  is  born  in  the  metal 
world that seems destined to harvest critical accolades and  delight 
fans alike. Bloodbath are doing  just  that  with  their  old-school 
Swedish death metal. The _Breeding Death_ EP served as a  successful 
introduction to the band, but clearly that initial release was but a 
prelude of what was to come. _Resurrection Through  Carnage_  is  an 
album that cynics may think would have  earned  plaudits  regardless 
of  its  quality,  just  for  the  sheer  weight  of  the  names  on 
its  line-up:  Mikael  Akerfeldt  (Opeth,  vocals),  Anders  Nystrom 
(Katatonia, guitar), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia, bass)  and  Dan  Swano 
(most notably ex-Edge of Sanity, drums). Fortunately, however,  this 
album is just so damn enjoyable that I doubt it would get  any  less 
honours had it been released by a bunch of unknowns -- it might  get 
less attention, but it's hard to deny  its  honest,  straightforward 
appeal. Ironically, for all the big names  in  Bloodbath,  the  only 
influences one can notice from  their  respective  bands  of  origin 
relate to Swano's early Edge of Sanity.  Couple  that  with  proudly 
worn influences such as old Entombed  and  Dismember,  and  you  get 
Bloodbath: a modern look at old-school Swedish death metal.  Nystrom 
seems to be a bit of an Entombed and Dismember freak, as his  guitar 
work on this album demonstrates, while Swano contributes more than a 
handful of ideas,  riffs  and  melodies  that  bring  back  pleasant 
memories of Edge of Sanity (which he apparently  intends  to  reform 
with a view to creating something like _Crimson_ part two, according 
to reports). Akerfeldt's vocals are of a relatively  deep,  gravelly 
variety; a bit different from their Opeth demon vox, but with plenty 
of smart inflexions and hooks to make sure they  connect  well  with 
the riffs and melodies. _Resurrection Through Carnage_ is guaranteed 
to get virtually anyone  who  is  into  extreme  metal  tapping  and 
humming along to the dirty  yet  powerful  guitar  tunes  and  vocal 
lines, the more percussive riffs, and Swano's simple  but  effective 
drumming.  This  is  pure,  unpretentious  metallic  enjoyment  from 
beginning to end.                                                    

[Aaron McKay: "You know when you've met your match.  No  matter  how 
 many times I go through this CD, I come back to the same  thing  -- 
 this is as good as it gets. I tried -- believe me, I  tried  --  to 
 find some  blemish  or  imperfection  that  I  could  cite  against 
 Bloodbath. There were  none  to  be  found.  Songs  all  throughout 
 _Resurrection Through Carnage_ have  hauntingly  innovative  guitar 
 parts courtesy of Katatonia's Anders Nystrom  sometimes  laid  over 
 the brutish and raspy growls of Opeth's  Mikael  Akerfeldt.  Listen 
 after listen, start to finish, I am nonetheless amazed by the power 
 of this album! It has my highest endorsement."]                     

[Gino Filicetti: "I must say, it has been a LONG time  since  almost 
 EVERY track on a new album has  moved  me  as  much  as  the  sheer 
 masterpiece that is _Resurrection Through Carnage_. My first  taste 
 of this album came when I heard the second track, "So You Die".  To 
 my great delight, the rest of the album held its own  --  and  then 
 some -- against this benchmark. Perfection  has  definitely  reared 
 its seldomly seen head, just try and prove me wrong."]              

Contact: http://www.bloodbath.biz


Carpathian Forest - _Defending the Throne of Evil_  
by: James Montague  (4.5 out of 10)  (Season of Mist, 2003)

Towards the end of the 1990s, as most of the  Norwegian  black  metal
scene were busy diluting their own essence with  modern  electronics,
disco beats, Barbie dolls and whatever other un-kvlt stuff came their
way, Carpathian Forest maintained their dignity as  one  of  the  few
remaining devotees to old-school ethics. So naturally, I was quick to
snap up their latest offering when it hit the shelves  a  few  months
ago.

There was a catch, though -- the marvellous anti-evolutionary  albums
_Black Shining Leather_ and _Strange Old Brew_,  though  released  in
1998 and 2000 respectively, consisted of old material dating  as  far
back as 1991. _Defending the  Throne  of  Evil_  is  a  21st  century
affair, and the scene is a lot different these days. As soon  as  the
opener, "It's Darker Than You Think", burst out of the  blocks  in  a
flurry of blast beats and bombastic keyboards, the alarm  bells  went
off in my cranium. Suddenly my trusty old Rambler had power steering,
anti-lock braking and comfy velour seating. I  wasn't  sure  I  could
live with this, but I gave it a test drive anyway.

The result? It functions correctly, but it's not the  bone  this  old
dog likes to chew on. The band plays  solid  and  brutal  black/death
metal at a medium-fast pace, without too many blast beats,  and  have
certainly retained their sense of humour with their OTT band pics and
song titles like "Put to Sleep Like a Sick Animal!!!" and  "Christian
Incoherent Drivel". But these few small rewards come at a cost.  Like
so many of their compatriots these days, the band simply tries to  do
too much, too quickly. The songs all race along with one  forgettable
riff after another, weakened by the band's newfound  appreciation  of
keyboards  that  provide  nothing  but  constant  irritation  in  the
background. Terrorizer Magazine defends the turn  towards  ubiquitous
keyboard usage, stating that "before the purists get out the lynching
ropes it should be pointed out that said key-work is very much of the
fill out the sound  variety...".  Well,  this  purist  must  ask  the
question "Why bother at all, then?"

See, this is the problem with Carpathian Forest attempting  an  album
like this. The band has always had limited talent,  but  operated  so
well within these restrictions with  their  catchy  arrangements  and
true spirit. When a band  like  this  attempts  to  "fill  out  their
sound", buoyed by an over-professional sound, they  only  succeed  in
pointing out their own deficiencies. Unfortunately, Carpathian Forest
have tried to do too much in too small a space, and now they too have
diluted their essence.

Contact: http://sacrificulum.narod.ru


Cephalic Carnage - _Halls of Amenti_  (Willowtip Records, 2002)
by: Xander Hoose  (7.5 out of 10)

Part one of three in a splendid set on Willowtip Records,  _Halls  of
Amenti_ is a 19-minute  long  doom  track  that  shows  a  completely
different side of Cephalic Carnage. Even the toughest fans might have
some trouble recognizing this razorsharp dark-as-fuck slab of doom as
being the product of the same band that twists and  turns  everything
from black to death to grind in songs that make your  neighbors  want
to commit suicide. Anyway, where was I... Ah yes, _Halls  of  Amenti_
is aggressive doom.  Don't  expect  your  pussy-style  Paradise  Lost
gothic doom here. Even with clean vocals, all subtleties are lost  on
Cephalic Carnage as they groan and churn their way from peak to  peak
(making it fairly obvious that this EP was written with  split  songs
in mind). I tend to agree that this material might be too big a  leap
for the regular Cephalic Carnage fans, but  doomsters  will  probably
soil themselves while listening to this. Ugh!


Cephalic Carnage / Anal Blast - _Split_  (Terrorizer, 2002)
by: Xander Hoose  (not rated)

By far the weirdest death/grind release of the year, that's the  only
way to describe this split between these two monsters of metal.  With
short samples ("Elmo's Song", drum &  bass,  Space  Invaders,  farts)
Cephalic Carnage do their best  to  destroy  their  reputation  as  a
serious metal act, and succeed wonderfully considering by the big-ass
grin it leaves behind on my face. Then again, in-between  the  lunacy
there is some serious brutal riffing. Even though the  production  is
absolutely lacking after their "Lucid Interval" / "Halls  of  Amenti"
release, it is better than most the  death  metal  crap  released  on
splits nowadays. After 21 songs, it's Anal Blast's turn  to  pick  up
the broken pieces -- and break them up some more.  Song  titles  like
"Internet Cunt", "Beer Bong Enema" and "High on Cunt  Blood"  clearly
show where their band name  was  derived  from.  With  a  far  better
production -- not surprisingly -- than Anal Cunt ever had, they shred
through another eleven songs that will appeal to, well, everyone  who
doesn't take offense to the song titles. If you're up for a laugh  as
well as banging your head, then try this split.


Clandestine Blaze - _Fist of the Northern Destroyer_  
by: Matthias Noll  (8.5 out of 10)  (Northern Heritage, 2002)

Finnish underground black metallers Clandestine Blaze return with  a 
new full-length album on Northern Heritage. Musically, most  of  the 
material on _Fist  of  the  Northern  Destroyer_  stays  within  the 
stylistic boundaries defined by Darkthrone's "Kathaarian Life Code": 
blazing songs and sections with monotonous, trance-inducing melodies 
plus -- for good measure -- some crunching Celtic Frost worship. But 
Clandestine Blaze's contribution to black metal considerably exceeds 
the achievement of just adding another album which sounds  "like  _A 
Blaze in the Northern Sky_" to  the  pile.  The  Finnish  scene  has 
developed a style which is firmly based on the pioneering albums  of 
the second wave, but has clearly and distinguishably added a melodic 
and atmospheric twist of their own. Finnish bands,  and  Clandestine 
Blaze in particular, sound a lot darker and more melancholic  to  my 
ears than their Norwegian comrades. CB's vocalist contributes a much 
deeper and more commanding performance than the  usual  black  metal 
rasp and adds even more personality and sinister touches to _FotND_. 
Of course this record is underproduced and raw, but it never  sounds 
thin or weak. Surprisingly for a black  metal  album,  the  bass  is 
clearly audible and it even participates actively in the delivery of 
the songs. Overall _FotND_ is a damn fine album and  in  my  opinion 
superior to 2001's _Night of the Unholy Flames_. Where  many  others 
fail, Clandestine Blaze manages the difficult task  of  adhering  to 
the ultra-conservative rules of true black  metal  and  establishing 
their own identity -- even considering the artwork -- with ease!     


Daemonlord - _Aarstrand_  (Ketzer Records, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis  (6 out of 10)

Daemonlord (or Demonlord  as  they  were  once  known,  before  they 
changed their name in order to avoid  confusion  with  another  band 
with the same name -- and same spelling) are one of  the  few  metal 
bands to originate from Spain, a country strangely under-represented 
in the metal world. This 7" consists  of  four  songs  (including  a 
cover of Rotting  Christ's  "Fgementh,  Thy  Gift")  of  simplistic, 
occasionally catchy, no-frills three-minute  bursts  of  neo-thrash, 
never straying too  far  from  the  conventional  verse-chorus-verse 
structure. They do it well enough, yet never  manage  to  imbue  the 
songs with anything partiuclarly memorable. As with the  _Bloodline_ 
7", Daemonlord is best appreciated in short bursts, as  their  music 
would also get boring if it  was  performed  for  much  longer  then 
twenty minutes or so. This will hardly be  the  worst  buy  you  can 
possibly make, but conversely neither will it be your best buy.      

Contact: http://www.ketzer-records.de


Dark Fortress - _Profane Genocidal Creations_  (Red Stream, 2003)
by: Aaron McKay  (8.5 out of 10)

This offering is an epic release, for certain. The ten  tracks  clock
in at nearly seventy minutes total. My disbelief feed  on  itself  to
the point where I simply needed to hear this kind of effort to -know-
that interesting, appealing black metal was still being  churned  out
somewhere in the world. That said, in what  seems  to  be  a  fertile
ground for this genre, Germany as served up hard-hitting outfits like
Nagelfar,  Homicide,  and  Bethlehem.  Dark  Fortress  is  a  welcome
addition to this horde. _Profane Genocidal Creations_ displays itself
as wildly complicated -- nearly beyond compare despite the abused and
stereotypical  more-evil-than-thou  imagery.  Without  spoiling  your
surprise too much, DF exploits clean, harsh and ever-so-lightly  used
female vocal styles, strained n' raw guitars, acoustic  passages  and
highly catchy arrangements. There is a special point to loosely  draw
the comparison between  Dark  Fortress  and  bands  like  Dissection,
Satyricon, and At the Gates. In this reviewer's opinion Dark Fortress
has the capability to boil your blood in a more independent way  than
these comparisons may lead you to believe. As a  point  of  interest,
Ares from Aeternus makes an appearance on the  second  to  last  cut,
"Battle Rages  in  the  Infernal  Depth".  If  you  are  looking  for
illumination, look elsewhere 'cause Dark Fortress's black density  is
utterly smothering. It's encouraging to have such an album  so  early
in 2003!

Contact: http://www.redstream.org


Darkthrone - _Hate Them_  (Moonfog, 2003)
by: James Montague  (9 out of 10)

Did you really  think  you  could  survive  another  northern  winter
without a new Darkthrone album?  Of  course  not!  December  darkness
descends, the moon freezes, and two Norwegian guys  get  together  to
relive a ritual for the tenth time -- when the weekend rocks  around,
grab a case of beer, head to the studio and thrash out  some  hateful
tunes. 26  hours  later,  and  another  black  metal  masterpiece  is
recorded, mixed, and ready to unleash its fury.

Some thought Darkthrone had been treading water of late. Some saw the
colour digipak and lush sound of _Plaguewielder_ and thought  Satyr's
dreaded Moonfog influence had claimed another victim.  Rest  assured,
although  the  strong  production  is  still  there,  the  spirit  of
Darkthrone is burning bright. Indeed, the opening number, "Rust",  is
one of their finest moments. It starts  with  a  slow  dirge  and  an
almighty, foreboding bass guitar (yes, bass on a Darkthrone  record!)
which gradually picks up  pace  until  we're  at  a  solid  mid-tempo
thrash. Then Nocturno Culto utters the  words,  "Consistence  unknown
like  early  black  metal"  and  then,  as  their  beloved  genre  is
announced, all hell breaks loose. Several tremolo  riffs  are  linked
seamlessly before the song concludes with a classic thrash riff --  a
spine tingler all the way.

The opening demonstrates aptly how Darkthrone have changed  over  the
years, learning to develop a real sense of dynamics which they failed
to master in their death metal debut, _Soulside_Journey_, and  didn't
even attempt during their revered trio of garage-BM albums.  While  I
must concede that their early black metal exploits  were  darker  and
ultimately more important to the genre, _Hate Them_ absolutely rocks.
It is the pinnacle achievement in the style of their  recent  albums,
_Ravishing Grimness_ and _Plaguewielder_, and reflects the essence of
_A Blaze in the Northern Sky_ without totally embodying it.

Put simply, Darkthrone continues to dominate the Norwegian scene. You
COULD live without them these days. But why would you want to?

Contact: http://www.darkthrone.no


Destroyer 666 - _Cold Steel... For an Iron Age_  
by: James Montague  (9.5 out of 10)  (Season of Mist, 2002)

Not content to bathe in the critical  acclaim  and  enthusiastic  fan
response  to  _Phoenix  Rising_,  Australia's  trustiest  headbangers
unleashed another fierce attack on the  listening  public.  And  they
were in no mood to fancypant about, either. While the previous album,
_Phoenix Rising_, tended towards longer songs  that  gradually  built
the tension, _Cold Steel... For an Iron Age_  thrusts  the  intensity
upon you from the very first note. Without intros,  without  soothing
epic soundscapes or melodic interludes, the band tears  through  nine
aggressive tracks and a mere 34 minutes  later  leaves  the  listener
battered and bruised.

At this point many readers might question what makes _Cold  Steel..._
so special, an album which I had  no  hesitation  in  nominating  the
premier release of 2002. After all, many bands have rebelled  against
the modernisation of metal and joined the "no  girls,  no  keyboards"
brigade. The difference here, though, is that Destroyer 666 were  not
caving in to their own limitations by  stripping  back  their  style.
Whilst many of metal's most worthy protagonists  like  Sigh  and  Lux
Occulta are off finding how many disparate influences they  can  work
into their tapestries -- and all credit to them, they are masters  of
the craft -- these fine Aussie lads are finding how to make metal  as
vicious and memorable as possible, in  its  traditional  form.  Their
blast sections are mayhemic and captivating like no  other,  but  the
band always knows when to pull the emergency brake on their  speeding
train and indulge in some  foot-stomping,  arse-kicking  riffs,  with
simple chants  like  "Fire!  Black  Fire!",  "Rape  the  world!"  and
"Victory is one!" to roar along to. And  therein  lies  this  album's
essence -- its anthemic nature. This takes us back to  the  good  old
days when metal was all about beer and banging your head. A return to
an age of innocence, perhaps, but with the bitter  cynicism  of  21st
century living, and the lack of naivete it brings.

In a year where I started to indulge in many musical pursuits outside
the metal spectrum, Destroyer 666 reminded me that no other style can
match the fist-pumping, hostile intensity of  honest  extreme  metal.
Whatever reservations you may have about the band's  silly  name  and
even sillier member pseudonyms like K.K.  Warslut  (which  does  date
back a long way, it must be said), I urge you to put them  aside  and
hear one of the finest  recent  incarnations  of  this  indefatigable
musical style.

Contact: http://www.destroyer666.net


Destruktor - _Brutal Desecration_  (Decius Productions, 2002)
by: James Montague  (7 out of 10)

Few surprises to be had here -- this is pure Australian war metal  by
the boys from the rural town of Kangaroo  Flat,  Victoria.  From  the
outset you receive a pummeling  of  drum  blasts,  relentless  guitar
riffs that combine the  noisiness  of  black  metal  with  the  chord
patterns of thrash, and deathlike vocal  roars.  It's  like  all  the
extreme metal genres got together and jumped  in  the  blender.  It's
unattractive, unfashionable and certainly not melodic. But  for  some
demented souls, myself included, this stuff surely rocks.

Side A of the 7" disc is total blastbeat devastation, whereas on side
B the band adds a few moments of respite with thrashy  power  chords.
They also brought in the excellent Chris Volcano from Abominator as a
session drummer, and these factors, in combination with the dedicated
old-school packaging (free logo sticker, etc.), makes this 7" a  good
low-budget  treat.  A  fifty-minute  LP  in  this  style  may  become
wearisome (just see Volcano's primary band for compelling  evidence),
but for a quick 12-minute Armageddon ritual, you can't go wrong  with
Destruktor.

Contact: http://go.to/destruktor


Dissimulation - _Maras_  (Ledo Takas Records, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6.5 out of 10)

This Lithuanian band managed to capture my attention even  before  I 
spun the disc: the artwork seemed quite good,  so  I  looked  inside 
the booklet. What it contains  is  a  lesson  for  many  a  band;  a 
lesson in how subtlety  can  increase  brutality.  Simply  put,  the 
lyrics are arranged around a tasteful layout that  includes  several 
ancient-looking pictures of funerals and corpses carefully  made  up 
before burial. It is subtle  enough  that  one  doesn't  immediately 
realize what it is; and even though  there  is  no  gore  or  visual 
violence going on, it is a bit disturbing  once  it  hits  you.  One 
other thing that virtually every review of this album is  likely  to 
mention (I wonder if the band betted amongst themselves about  this) 
is the inclusion of a brief speech sample by  Adolf  Hitler  --  the 
band biography states that they have no  connection  with  the  Nazi 
movement, however. The band has been around for  a  long  while  now 
(nearly ten years),  yet  this  is  only  their  first  full-length; 
considering such a long time in the making, _Maras_ is good but  not 
great. Old school blackened thrash is  what  Dissimulation  have  to 
offer, with the focus often shifting from black to thrash  and  vice 
versa throughout the disc. _Maras_ is very riffy, in the sense  that 
Dissimulation do not go around  crafting  melodies  or  throwing  in 
keyboards -- it's all about good riffs, but while  Dissimulation  do 
get a good vibe going and throw a lot of energy and commitment  into 
their music, most of the riffs and song structures  aren't  terribly 
memorable or remarkable (let alone innovative). Still, _Maras_ is  a 
decent album, and it is likely to do a fair job  of  quenching  your 
thirst for old-school black/thrash.                                  

Contact: http://www.ledotakas.com


Endless Time - _Ancient Tales_  (Independent, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (2 out of 10)

An intro and three tracks form this less than 15 minute long  EP  by 
Endless Time. Whether 15 minutes ever seemed so long while playing a 
CD is debatable. This is Italian power  metal  with  a  lead  female 
vocalist (sing-along  choruses  included).  Instrumentally,  Endless 
Time are competent, but no virtuosos; the music is relatively simple 
for the genre, very little going on at any given point in  time.  As 
for  the  vocals,  the  singer  fails  to  shine  and  doesn't  seem 
especially well-suited to the style. The entire thing  comes  across 
as amateurish, cringe-worthy and lacking any power or  real  quality 
to save the EP. You can tell the band  is  into  the  music  they're 
playing, but they still have a very long way to go before making  it 
appealing.                                                           


Engine - _Superholic_  (Metal Blade, 2002)
by: Aaron McKay  (6.5 out of 10)

I have  gone  back  and  forth  on  my  opinion  of  this  follow  up
to Engine's 1999  self-tilted  debut  [CoC  #44].  There  is  nothing
earth-shattering on _Superholic_, but I will compliment  its  forward
progression and continuation toward diversity on this disc. "I  Know"
hits pretty hard and plods along heavily all  throughout  the  song's
three minutes and forty-nine second play time. As the third track, "I
Know" winds up being the origination point of  my  interest  in  this
outfit's second offering, _Superholic_; from  there  it  is  hit  'n'
miss. You might expect nice bass lines on this album  from  "Mr.  Low
End", Joey Vera, and you'd be right.  You  also  might  expect  thick
guitar riffs from Bernie Versailles and you'd again be correct.  Fans
of incrementally intense drumming  will  be  disappointed,  but  Pete
Parada gets the job done nonetheless. My beef, as it turns out,  lies
with Ray Alder. I would opt for  making  Engine  a  three  piece  and
turning over the vocal  duties  to  Vera  if  I  had  my  way.  As  a
matter of fact, after hearing _No  Exit_,  I  didn't  feel  any  real
strong desire purchase any more Fates Warning  albums.  While  I  can
appreciate Alder's style, I've always thought Ray Gillen of  Badlands
(r.i.p.) rendered a better  presentation.  Everything  considered,  I
have always much preferred the gravely and guttural styles to a clean
delivery. _Superholic_ is your basic well-played metal. Nothing fancy
or trend-setting, but  better  than  average  in  the  "enjoyability"
category.


Entombed - _Sons of Satan, Praise the Lord_  (Music For Nations, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (not rated)

Well, this is not the new Entombed album we've all been  waiting  for
(the new album will be available in a few more  months)  but  it's  a
good way of keeping us all satisfied for a  while.  _Sons  of  Satan,
Praise the Lord_ is a complete collection of every  single  coversong
they have recorded during their entire career. Songs range from metal
and hardcore covers (SOD, Kiss,  Misfits,  Repulsion,  Alice  Cooper,
Venom, Black Sabbath) to  slightly  less  expected  covers  (Dwarves,
Husker Du, King Crimson, Unsane) to completely unusual songs  showing
off Entombed's capabilities to handle different styles with ease (Lee
Hazelwood, Twisted Sister, Bob Dylan). It's very obvious that all the
songs are recorded during different periods in their  career  as  the
production on the later songs is far better than on the early covers,
and you can hear a progression in music qualities as well. It's a bit
of a shame that the songs are randomly put on the two CDs instead  of
taking a chronological order, because with the differences in quality
playing all the songs in order doesn't sound very natural.  _Sons  of
Satan, Praise the Lord_ is an excellent way to get your hands on  all
the rare covers that have been  released  on  EPs,  seven-inches  and
bonus editions. It saves us fans  a  lot  of  time  and  effort,  and
hearing Entombed do a cover of "Amazing Grace" is  always  worth  the
money!

Contact: http://www.entombed.org


Estrogenocide - _Estrogenocide_  (Independent, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis  (6.5 out of 10)

Any band that claims to perform "synthpopgrindcore", and that  their 
two main influences are Depeche Mode and Napalm Death,  succeeds  in 
piquing  my  interest  --  and  I  therefore  listened  to  this  CD 
immediately after I received it. After several listens I think I can 
safely say that there is no band like them;  while  they  adhere  to 
grindcore's (brief) song structures, the guitars  are  abrogated  in 
favour of '80s synthpop blips and bleeps. A drum machine is used  -- 
though this does get monotonous --, while the simulated guitar leads 
are just as bad  as  the  one  in  Ultraviolence's  cover  of  Black 
Sabbath's "Paranoid". Considering the complete absence  of  guitars, 
the grindcore growl  was  wisely  rejected  in  favour  of  menacing 
and slightly distorted  clean  vocals.  Lyrically,  the  traditional 
grindcore mix of humour and gore is utilised, generating  a  surreal 
atmosphere whereby violent lyrics are sung against a  background  of 
'poppy' music, incapable of sounding dark or  evil.  An  interesting 
experiment, whereby  a  naturally  upbeat  synthetic  pop  sound  is 
subverted and taken to its admittedly aggressive  limits.  This  may 
very well receive a fair amount of time in your stereo, but  despite 
the inventiveness shown on this release nothing can  be  done  about 
synthpop's  inherent  cheese  factor.  This  results  in  the  songs 
becoming annoying pretty quickly, which means  _Estrogenocide_  will 
most likely be forgotten in three months time.                       


Finnugor - _Black Flames_  (Oaken Shield / Adipocere, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis  (5 out of 10)

Finnugor describe themselves as symphonic black metal, but even those
who  think  Cradle  of  Filth  is  what  black  metal  really  sounds
like will have difficulty considering Finnugor  as  black  metal.  In
reality, they sound more like a lite version of  Tristania.  Growling
vocals, blastbeats and suitably "evil" lyrics (running the  gamut  of
metal topics from contemplations of a psychopath's  thoughts  through
to Immortal-esque Scandinavian  weather  reports)  are  all  present.
However, the subordination of the guitars to the heavy  (over)use  of
keyboards and Andrew Eldritch-esque (Sisters of Mercy)  vocals,  plus
the overwhelming gothic atmosphere, suggest that  this  CD  would  be
better suited to the gothic section of your local CD store. Even  the
growls sometimes sound as if they  were  tossed  in  just  to  remind
people that this is a metal release. This will be  a  hard  album  to
market, as metalheads will hate the incessant gothic touch, while any
interested goths will most likely be deterred by the death growls.


Funeral Inception - _Anthems of Disenchantment_  
by: Pedro Azevedo  (4 out of 10)  (Warpath Records, 2003)

If straightforward death metal from Indonesia  with  really  strange 
sounding drums is your  thing,  then  you  should  probably  go  out 
and buy _Anthems of  Disenchantment_  now.  This  isn't  much  of  a 
recommendation though, is it? Well, Funeral Inception do  not  offer 
the reviewer much else to distinguish  them  from  the  death  metal 
hordes. Apart from the drum sound problem, Funeral Inception are  so 
bog-standard it almost hurts. They're  not  terrible;  they're  just 
deeply  average.  Stereotypical  grunts,  unremarkable  death  metal 
riffs, and varying degrees of odd-sounding blast beats  (made  worse 
by the fact that the pace  changes  are  the  main  thing  that  can 
capture your attention) -- that pretty  much  sums  it  up.  Warpath 
Records have stayed within strict death metal boundaries with  every 
release so far and put out some rather entertaining  albums  in  the 
process (case in point: Hypokras'  _Dead  &  Hungry_),  but  Funeral 
Inception take that concept a bit too far without adding much that's 
actually interesting or remarkably well done to the mix.  You  might 
still enjoy a few spins of this album if  you're  sufficiently  into 
this type of death metal and can get over the deeply annoying drums, 
but even its good bits sound like they have been  done  before,  and 
better.                                                              

Contact: http://www.warpathrecords.com


Gospel of the Horns - _A Call to Arms_  (Invictus Productions, 2002)
by: Matthias Noll  (7 out of 10)

Various connections exist between Gospel of the Horns  and  Destroyer
666. The whole situation reminds me of the  incestuous  entanglements
among Swedish bands like Dismember, Carnage, Nihilist and Entombed in
the early '90s. The fact that Gospel of the Horns' music is as  close
to Destroyer 666's as Dismember was to Entombed  further  strengthens
this comparison. Top songs from _A Call  to  Arms_,  such  as  "Chaos
Bringer" and "Vengeance Is Mine", could have  been  on  D666's  _Cold
Steel... For an Iron Age_ without anyone noticing the difference.  On
a few other tracks GotH cruise along  in  a  more  rocking,  slightly
punkish way, utilizing an approach not  all  too  different  from  an
up-tempo Motoerhead track. My impression of _ACtA_  is  that  despite
many similarities there's quite a noticeable gap between both groups.
Considering the overall quality of the tunes and the  consistency  of
the songwriting, GotH is clearly the weaker of the Australian  twins.
Furthermore, the production on _ACtA_ is a bit too  clean.  A  rawer,
louder and more ripping sound would have substantially increased  the
impact of GotH's deaththrash meets  traditional  metal  style  --  in
fact, the sound on the _Eve of the Conqueror_ EP was more appropriate
even if the  difference  is  not  huge.  Even  if  I  feel  like  I'm
describing GotH too much in terms of another band, these two are just
too close to avoid it. If you are a fan of D666  you  will  certainly
enjoy GotH. Just expect Hellcunt and Co. to come in second for now.


Graveland - _Memory and Destiny_  (No Colours Records, 2002)
by: Matthias Noll  (8 out of 10)

Graveland, these days only consisting of Rob Darken,  have  certainly
come a long way, from their ultra-grim beginnings in their demo  days
and _In the Glare of Burning Churches_ to an album like  _Memory  and
Destiny_. The development or change is  as  massive  as  between  the
Bathory debut and _Hammerheart_,  an  album  which  is  stylistically
close to recent Graveland material. _MaD_ does  not  sound  radically
different from _Creed of Iron_. In  fact,  it  could  have  been  its
second disc had _CoI_ been a double CD. Sure, the production here  is
slightly sharper, and you can find a couple more  hooks  (i.e.,  more
memorable and ear-pleasing melodies), but that's about  it.  So,  for
those who are not familiar with present day Graveland,  how  do  they
sound? This is a fusion  of  Celtic/Pagan  melodies  and  riffs  with
a dominant overlay  of  bombastic  choir  and  keyboard  soundscapes,
comparable to  the  soundtrack  of  the  first  Conan  movie,  and  a
good dose of  Viking  metal  a  la  _Hammerheart_  (minus  Quorthon's
cringeworthy attempts at clean singing or recycling Manowar riffs and
lyrics). Fortunately, Rob Darken has not made the move towards 'real'
vocals, and his trademark rasp is still in place and as  recognizable
as ever. The tempi on _MaD_ never exceed a  marching  pace,  and  the
rhythmic structure of every song is a simple pounding,  militaristic,
onward-into-battle approach. The  songs  usually  have  a  length  of
around 10 minutes and the main themes are sustained which generates a
sense of timelessness and trance as if on a sheer  endless  march  in
military formation. For those  familiar  with  the  black  and  white
movies of pioneering Russian movie director  Sergei  Eisenstein  _MaD
could be the perfect soundtrack when armoured knights meet in  battle
on Russia's endless plains and unstoppable armies  celebrate  another
victory. While probably too long, boring, not grim and  metal  enough
for some, these recent Graveland records are vivid  images  of  times
long forgotten turned into sound.


Hand of Doom - _Dreams of Resurrection_  (Gemini, 2002)
by: Brian Meloon  (4 out of 10)

Italy has had more than its share  of  good  but  relatively-unknown 
bands over the years --  including  Aydra,  Endaymynion  [CoC  #13], 
Fiurach [#44], Gory Blister, Sync,  Thy  Nature,  Ensoph  [CoC  #40, 
#56], and Ledel [CoC  #23,  #31].  So  it  was  with  understandable 
anticipation that I opened this disc  from  Italy's  Hand  of  Doom, 
which was billed as "progressive death  metal"  by  their  promotion 
agency. And it was with increasing disappointment that I sat through 
its 60 minutes of sloppy, unfocused,  amateur  posturing.  At  first 
glance, this album appears promising: the songs are all  over  seven 
minutes, save the final instrumental. And the  band's  "progressive" 
label isn't undeserved: their  music  features  a  lot  of  variety, 
both in riff styles  as  well  as  frequency  of  changes.  I  found 
riffs that sounded like _ITP_-era  Death,  Iron  Maiden,  Nocturnus, 
and Pestilence's _Spheres_, as well  as  some  jazzy  bits,  and  an 
abundance of more standard thrash riffs. The music changes often  -- 
sometimes after only 15-30 seconds -- so the songs don't get  overly 
repetitive, but their flow is often disjointed.  Unfortunately,  the 
execution here is simply terrible on many levels.  First,  the  band 
aren't very tight: a lot of the playing  is  sloppy  and/or  out  of 
tune. While this  is  sometimes  understandable  because  the  music 
they're attempting is rather technical, it is still  not  excusable. 
In addition to the sloppy playing, the vocals are  almost  uniformly 
bad. There  are  three  main  styles:  clean  vocals,  gruff/shouted 
vocals, and those that are somewhere in between.  None  of  them  is 
good. The clean vocals are often flat, such as in  the  embarrassing 
chorus to "Winter Days". The in-between styles usually sound  goofy, 
such as some sections in "Dark Side", where the  vocals  are  mostly 
shouted, but the last word of each phrase is sung in a clean  style. 
Even the shouted vocals are sometimes bad, as the timing is  off  or 
the phrasing is awkward (how bad do you  have  to  be  to  screw  up 
shouted vocals?). But the element of this album  most  deserving  of 
scorn are the guitar solos. I've never heard such  amateur  noodling 
in a supposedly professional recording. I'm very familiar with a lot 
of the phrasing in the solos: many  parts  sound  exactly  like  the 
solos I used to play in 1988, after  I'd  been  playing  guitar  for 
about a year. Most of  the  guitar  solos  are  completely  aimless, 
seemingly being played  without  any  knowledge  of  the  underlying 
music's changes or rhythmic structure. It seems the guitarists (yes, 
there are two of them and they're both terrible soloists) only start 
paying attention to the underlying music so that they know  when  to 
stop soloing. As an example, check out the first guitar solo of  the 
album, in the song "Dark Side"  starting  at  the  2:13  mark.  It's 
completely out-of-tune, completely ignorant of the underlying music, 
and even drops out toward the end, only to dramatically recover  for 
some generic whammy dives and horse whinnies.  If  this  wasn't  bad 
enough, the band seems to think that the solos are a useful addition 
to their songs, including at least two guitar solos in  every  song. 
Some of these are even longer than a full minute, and just  drag  on 
and on... Truth be told, there is some good music here.  Of  the  60 
minutes on this disc, I would classify about 10 of them as  good  to 
excellent, another 20 as average, and the remaining  30  minutes  as 
sub-par to embarrassingly awful. The bottom line is that this is  an 
amateurish effort at making progressive  death  metal  by  musicians 
(and a vocalist) simply not up to the task. With  better  execution, 
their ideas would garner them perhaps an 8 out  of  10,  but  as  it 
stands, I can't recommend this disc to anyone.                       

Contact: http://www.handofdoom.it


Internecine - _The Book of Lambs_  (Hammerheart, 2002)
by: Brian Meloon  (7 out of 10)

This album is the brainchild of Hate Eternal's Jared Anderson,  with 
some help from bandmates Derek Roddy (drums on two tracks) and  Erik 
Rutan (guest solos), and Nile's current drummer Tony Laureno. With a 
line-up of this caliber, you should  expect  a  fast,  brutal  death 
metal album played with exceptional aplomb, and this album certainly 
doesn't disappoint in that department. Unfortunately, the extent  of 
the album's ferocity precludes its inclusion of much in the  way  of 
dynamics, leading to an album that -- once you get past the  initial 
adrenaline rush  --  is  simply  boring.  Aside  from  the  lack  of 
dynamics, there's not much wrong with  this  album.  The  production 
(handled by Rutan) is excellent.  The  guitar  riffs  are  generally 
average or  above,  and  the  few  guitar  solos  are  tasteful  and 
appropriate. The playing is exceptional: the drumming  is  extremely 
fast and the band are very tight. The guitar and bass work are  both 
done by Jared, and he shows himself to be a capable guitar player as 
well as a bassist. The vocals are a mix of a deep growl and a higher 
shout/growl,  but  neither  style  detracts  from  or  adds  to  the 
enjoyment of the album. Ultimately,  the  music  on  this  album  is 
technically very good; taken in small doses,  it's  even  enjoyable. 
But when you put it all together, it  gets  repetitive  and  there's 
very little that's memorable or interesting enough to want to listen 
to again. Those looking for the next level of brutality should check 
this out, as I find it hard to believe that it will be easy to  find 
an album that's this brutal and this well-performed.  Those  looking 
for something original or memorable should probably look elsewhere.  

Contact: http://www.hammerheart.com


Kaliban - _The Tempest of Thoughts_  (Low Frequency Records, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis  (7 out of 10)

When a power metal orientated band's name and  CD  title  contains  a
reference to a Shakespeare play instead of singing about wizards  and
elves, then it is likely that said band would venture  a  little  off
the beaten track. Admittedly, Kaliban are not a  "pure"  power  metal
band (strange  how  one  always  hears  tired  statements  about  the
"trueness" of a particular black metal band but never about death  or
power metal) -- the growling vocals are a remnant from their  origins
as a death metal band. The  music  is  comparatively  restrained  (in
comparison to the overblown pomposity and general over-the-top  style
of, say, Rhapsody) and they are not as technical as many others,  but
they are nonetheless musically competent and fairly  innovative  with
some catchy sections -- and at the end of the day, that's what really
counts. Plus, there is no Tolkien-inspired nonsense!


Katatonia - _Viva Emptiness_  (Peaceville, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

Present day Katatonia is clearly a more evolved musical entity  than 
a few years ago. Where _Viva  Emptiness_  has  a  crunchy,  polished 
production, an older album, say _Brave Murder Day_, had a relatively 
weak one with artificial-sounding drums. _Viva  Emptiness_  presents 
multiple musical approaches, much more varied  than,  for  instance, 
_Discouraged Ones_. Furthermore, Jonas Renkse sings with a seemingly 
ever-improving voice, and the band's instrumental quality  seems  to 
have equally improved. The point I'm trying to make is that _VE_ has 
all that, but a lot of the time it fails to convey as  much  feeling 
to me as Katatonia's previous releases. This is  not  to  say  _Viva 
Emptiness_ is a mediocre or sterile album, or that I can't stand the 
more radio-friendly path Katatonia have taken -- see my 9 out of  10 
review of its predecessor _Last Fair Deal Gone Down_ for  proof.  If 
anything, _Viva Emptiness_  actually  sounds  heavier  than  _LFDGD_ 
overall, although usually in a rather mainstream-ish way.  The  main 
problem on _Viva Emptiness_ is that in  exploring  new  rhythms  and 
string  work,  Katatonia  have  forsaken  most  of  their  trademark 
emotional guitar style. They have sought other means to express  the 
emotion that has always been  part  of  their  music,  and  on  some 
occasions  they  succeed  brilliantly:  the  final  sections  of  "A 
Premonition" and "Evidence", the chorus of "Walking by a  Wire"  and 
the Dolorian-like closer "Inside the City of  Glass".  Most  of  the 
time, however, _Viva Emptiness_ fails to make the kind of  impact  I 
hoped for, though it may  be  a  consistently  great  album  from  a 
musical point of view with all its clever  tricks  and  varied  time 
signatures. "Omerta" and most of "One Year From Now"  are  downright 
annoying, and there are more average tracks leaving  me  indifferent 
than on previous albums of Katatonia's  clean  vocal  era.  Overall, 
_Viva Emptiness_ is still definitely worth your money if  you  liked 
_Last Fair  Deal  Gone  Down_,  but  I  can't  help  feeling  mildly 
disappointed. On a side note, if the mainstream somehow ever noticed 
Katatonia, these guys really could become huge.                      

Contact: http://www.katatonia.com


Kittie - _Safe_  (Artemis Records, 2002)
by: Aaron McKay  (6.5 out of 10)

In the "energy" department, Kittie throws the  nuclear  power  switch
with this one! _Safe_ is a special seven-track  retrograded  offering
of mostly live material with the addition of  a  KMFDM  remix  and  a
largely useless radio edit, both for the song "Safe"  included  right
at the onset of this EP.  Generally,  the  most  engaging  aspect  to
_Safe_, other than Kittie's heavier-than-shit style, is  this  band's
massively appealing use of bass in a live environment  with  Kittie's
trademark  on/off  growl/clean  vocal  style.  Morgan,  Mercedes  and
Jennifer's chunky, balls-out (or lack thereof, as the  case  may  be)
aggressive approach lends itself to a wildly powerful live  recording
even with the addition of the rehashed "Safe" cuts at  the  beginning
of the  EP.  By  the  way,  Kittie's  webpage  is  well-designed  and
user-friendly to be sure -- it  is  most  certainly  worth  the  time
invested in checking it out, if for no other reason  than  the  video
interviews found there; mostly enlightening, but sometimes trite,  as
well, both in depth and information. Often we take the good with  the
bad, but "Severed", "What I Always Wanted" and "Pain" recorded  in  a
live setting was a nice treat for Kittie fans. "Safe"  is  mostly  in
the "glass is half full" category. If you haven't yet had a chance to
familiarize yourself with  this  rabid  three-piece  female  Canadian
outfit, I'd make it a point, but start with _Oracle_ if live material
makes you uneasy.

Contact: http://www.kittie.net


Koldborn - _First Enslavement_  (Diehard Music, 2002)
by: Adam Lineker  (9 out of 10)

With so many bands pushing the  boundaries  of  death  metal  at  the
moment, it is either brave or  foolhardy  to  claim  to  enslave  the
genre. Koldborn, however, are feeling confident enough to make such a
statement, and with good reason. A heavy and brutal production with a
cold and chewy guitar sound  underpinned  by  an  ever  present  bass
rumble makes _First Enslavement_ sound really effective from the word
go. With tight and prominently treble drumming they succeed in  being
sharp but retain their crushing heaviness. The mix is a  very  strong
one for  the  music  and  Koldborn  perform  commendably,  displaying
chemistry and talent. The most remarkable member is vocalist  Martin,
who not only possesses a strong range and a savagely  powerful  tone,
but asserts himself as one in command and proves to be a key  element
when so many death vocalists just blend into the background. There is
a lot of melody on _First Enslavement_ and the songs flow very  well.
Koldborn are obviously learned in constructing riff progressions  and
they often embellish  passages  of  their  music,  making  each  song
exciting and interesting  to  the  listener.  There  is  very  little
mindless blasting but the pace and tone are  always  leaning  towards
intense. "In Breathless Sighs" displays a very creative side  to  the
band, utilising clean vocals, different paces  and  a  deep  metallic
groove. There is also a lot of mood and  atmosphere  created  by  the
riffage; this is accomplished without the aid of keyboards.  When  we
get a sustained whine of feedback and the floodgates  open  for  "All
Bowing Heads Roll", Koldborn sound  masterfully  brutal  and  drummer
Rasmus seems augmented in his role of controlling each riff  passage.
Though the second half of the album  loses  a  little  momentum,  the
standard of metal remains high, as it is performed by musicians whose
hearts are in it. It is a shame that there aren't  more  passages  of
lead solos, as Koldborn are obviously capable but choose to use  this
device very minimally. They succeed in creating songs that flow in  a
way that seems almost elegant. Admittedly _First Enslavement_  boasts
lyrics that would easily suit power metal, but this is a good  thing;
there is no ranting  about  violence  and  gore  in  a  grammatically
unsound way, although  lines  like  "Ride  the  demon  with  me"  are
endearingly silly. If there is anything that gets in the way of  them
opening their careers with a full ten, it is that _First Enslavement_
does not enslave or re-invent anything.  Koldborn  just  stay  within
familiar boundaries and play death metal very, very well indeed.

Contact: thanatos@koldborn.dk


L.Minygwal - _E'er_  (Virusworx, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7 out of 10)

I have no  idea  what  the  band  name  is  supposed  to  mean,  but 
apparently they used to be called Lost in the  Supermarket  back  in 
demo stage. Furthermore, as far as I know  the  album  title  is  as 
likely to originate from someone with no lips trying to  say  "ever" 
as from a poetic use of the word  --  because  the  former  actually 
makes more sense in the context of the music than the  latter.  I'll 
spell it out: _E'er_, L.Minygwal's second full-length, is a -really- 
weird album. It opens with a sampled speech by a woman who seems  to 
be on the phone, and one basically spends the  entire  7:35  of  the 
opening track waiting for the sample to end and the song to start -- 
only it doesn't. Heavy, plodding guitars play along  to  the  mostly 
incomprehensible conversation, and shrieks  surface  for  some  time 
midway through the track and again near the end --  that's  it.  The 
second track continues with the doom and noise influences,  but  now 
features some smooth female vocals; this is a rather good track in a 
strange way. Things seem to stay more or less the same for the first 
minute of the third track, titled "I  Excessiv-ly  Read  My  Letters 
Frantic-ly and Memorize 'Em Manic-ly" (sorry, I couldn't  help  it), 
until the  apparently  sweet  female  vocalist  suddenly  begins  to 
mercilessly shred her vocal chords on disc. Think  Karen  Crisis  on 
the more desperate side of things. The  song  gains  a  considerable 
amount of intensity from this, and certainly makes the listener  sit 
up and pay attention. After all the hysteria comes a more  tranquil, 
ambient track, but its disquieting background noises make  sure  you 
know there's more to come. And indeed more painful  shrieking  comes 
your way next, in a noise-based track followed  by  an  unremarkable 
interlude. This leads into the 11:30 final track, which begins  very 
much on the ambient side of things, with some pretty touches  and  a 
very different feel from the rest of the album --  almost  reminding 
me of Maudlin of the Well. Three minutes  from  the  end  the  heavy 
guitars kick in for a few moments, but nothing  really  happens  and 
the track ends on an ambient note again as  a  sort  of  anti-climax 
after all the insanity. The album clocks in  at  40  minutes,  which 
minus the lengthy opening and  closing  tracks  means  there's  only 
about 20 minutes that are actually worthwhile -- but  those  are  20 
minutes the likes of which you are unlikely  to  find  elsewhere  in 
terms of disturbing weirdness and intensity.                         


Lunaris - _...the Infinite._  (Earache Records, 2002)
by: Adam Lineker  (7.5 out of 10)

A project mostly centred around members of Spiral Architect,  Lunaris
match  a  cold  infusion  of  brutality  with  prog  experimentation.
Production wise,  _...the  Infinite_  feels  a  little  disconnected,
leaving  the  black  metal  stylings  somewhat  tempered.  The  drums
feel especially lightweight, lacking guts and  presence.  Thankfully,
Lunaris are not entirely crippled by an  unimpressive  sound  as  the
slight ethereal edge sometimes benefits their performance. Individual
musicians come to the attention of the listener as the  tone  of  the
record shifts to accommodate their efforts; this  particularly  works
for bassist Maztema, who often comes to shine  out  of  the  slightly
misty soundscape. It is the keyboards that essentially define  a  lot
of  this  album's  atmosphere.  Lunaris  incorporate  some  symphonic
touches, occasionally sounding similar  to  Opeth.  Their  songs  are
basically centred around the layering of metallic melodies, yet there
is much exploration of different styles. There are  moments  of  full
blown pomp and occasional passages of sound experimentation. The most
striking example of innovation flying off at a tangent is the  quirky
prog metal of "Growth Denied"  that  reminds  one  heavily  of  Dream
Theater as  Lunaris  perform  complex  tutti  runs  in  awkward  time
signatures. In general, the music flows well, rarely stuttering as it
shifts from one motif to another and the songs  feel  epic,  although
none  of  them  exceed  five  minutes.  Displaying  musicianship  and
instinct, Lunaris craft an intelligent and swirlingly  emotive  work.
The biggest problem with _...the Infinite_ is  that  it  is  hard  to
understand what Lunaris are trying to achieve.  The  broad  range  of
styles present can often leave the listener somewhat bewildered as to
where _...the Infinite_ is actually going. At its worst this  feeling
interrupts the music before one can become truly absorbed and, due to
the soft production, Lunaris often  lose  the  edge  when  they  most
need  it.  Although  interesting  and  enjoyable,  parts  of  _...the
Infinite_ feel a little soulless and confused, despite the  competent
performance. Having said this,  there  is  still  enough  on  _...the
Infinite_ to make it worthy of attention.

Contact: http://www.earache.com


Macabre Minstrels - _Morbid Campfire Songs_  (Independent, 2002)
by: Xander Hoose  (not rated)

Even though this album was only sold during Macabre's shows, it seems
that some stores have been able to get their  hands  on  a  bunch  of
copies too. The reason for doing a reviewing this is  --  well,  read
on. Those of you who don't know the  Macabre  Minstrels:  this  is  a
project by the Macabre  members  doing  acoustic  sets,  playing  old
nursery rhymes, but adding some of the trademark  Macabre  lyrics  to
twist them around. On this mini-album you'll find "Tom Dooley",  "The
Geins", "In the Mountains (Alferd Pecker)", "The Cat Came  Back"  and
"Found a Peanut". The first  three  songs  are  rhymes  about  serial
killers ("In the Mountains", for instance, has the  refrain  of  "For
He's a Jolly Good Fellow") while the latter two are about a  cat  who
can't be killed and a guy who eats a  peanut,  dies,  and  proves  he
hasn't learned a thing from the whole experience.  Even  though  this
all sounds quite cheesy and cheap, the mini-album is  actually  quite
good. I've enjoyed listening to it on  several  occasions,  and  most
people who hear it absolutely enjoy it! If you can get your hands  on
this little gem, play it often -- you'll soon find everybody  in  the
room humming and singing along.

Contact: http://www.murdermetal.com


Ministry - _Animositisomina_  (Sanctuary, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (6.5 out of 10)

When I was young, Ministry were  my  heroes.  It  used  to  drive  my
parents nuts, because no matter how hard they  tried,  they  couldn't
understand what was to  like  about  this  militant,  cold,  machinal
music. I tried to explain them it  wasn't  about  understanding,  but
about feeling it and experiencing it. My adoration peaked when I  saw
them play live at a festival. The seamless integration between  songs
from different albums, the total darkness and vile aggression  coming
from the stage, it was every metalhead's wet  dream.  Not  very  long
after that event, Ministry released their _Filth Pig_ album  and  the
downfall set in.

I'm not insinuating I didn't like _Filth Pig_; in fact, I think  it's
a really good album with some really strong songs ("The  Game  Show",
"Dead Guy", "Filth Pig"), but it was different  from  what  everybody
expected and lacked the vital Ministry essence. It took Ministry four
years to release a successor that was even worse than _Filth Pig_  as
it had outdated songs, a sloppy production, and the  wrong  attitude.
The tour and the album were both no success, and the band faded  into
the background once more.

With the release of their live album and DVD  _Sphinctour_  in  2002,
rumours about a new album became the talk of the day once more. After
being postponed time after time,  _Animositisomina_  is  now  finally
released and shows Ministry reaching back to what made _The Mind Is a
Terrible Thing to Taste_ and _Psalm 69_ such vital albums.  Its  cold
militant riffing and drumming combined with haunted vocals are indeed
a firm reminder of the early '90s when Ministry was  on  top  of  the
bill. There are no more experiments -- unless you consider a Magazine
cover experimental -- no depressive songs, no humor, only pure  anger
and frustration.

Even though _Animositisomina_ is a  very  decent  Ministry  album  in
itself, this is the album Ministry should have made after _Psalm 69_.
I can't help but realize that  this  album  is  quite  outdated.  The
production, the songs; they would have been absolute killer  material
in 1995 but we're almost ten years later now and music like this  has
already been adapted and evolved  by  other  bands.  Considering  the
latest releases of modern Ministry clones Static X, it's hard to  see
Ministry in any other light than a dinosaur trying to  keep  up  with
the tides of time.

Contact: http://www.darkspoon.com


Morgue - _The Process to Define the Shape of Self-Loathing_  
by: Xander Hoose  (10 out of 10)  (Adipocere Records, 2003)

Damn. I was so fucking content with last year's December,  Watchmaker
and  Minus  releases,  reinstating  my  confidence  in   the   brutal
death/grind scene, and wondering if it  could  get  any  better  than
that. Hell yes! Labeled 'deathcore', French outfit Morgue has managed
to create a near-ultimate sonic onslaught that manages to approach  a
wall of pure noise yet still letting riffs and  insane  rhythms  seep
through. The most 'relaxed' parts of the album make Morgue sound like
Cannibal Corpse, but everything else is  so  much  more  intense  and
over-the-top that you need a full fucking  hour  to  recuperate  from
this stuff,  wondering  what  the  fuck  just  happened!  Also,  they
deserve kudos for the aggro distorted  vocals,  reminding  me  a  bit
of December. The  vocals  on  _TPtDtSoSL_  complement  the  music  in
the best way possible, giving  the  songs  texture  and  filling  the
mid-frequency-range. I can't say much more about  this  album  except
that your not worthy of calling yourself 'metal' if you don't go  out
and buy it right now. Now I'm ready for Satan to take my soul...


My Shameful - _Of All the Wrong Things_  (Firebox Records, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8.5 out of 10)

More unhappy Finns from Firebox Records in the shape of My Shameful, 
and a mixture of Unholy and Dolorian comes to my mind during _Of All 
the Wrong Things_ -- if you can imagine the combination of two  such 
different forms of Finnish doom. There's a lot more to  My  Shameful 
than that, however: a lot of individuality, without which this would 
lose much of  its  appeal.  _Of  All  the  Wrong  Things_  is  grim, 
desolate, distorted,  slow  yet  sufficiently  varied  in  pace  and 
arrangements; and most  definitely  miserably  unhappy.  The  guitar 
sound, while heavy, relies  more  on  harshness  than  sonic  depth; 
various kinds of arrangements are then laid on top of this backbone, 
which is driven by the pronounced percussion and  the  often  nearly 
abstract growls and spoken parts. Extremely and unrelentingly sombre 
and depressive, _Of All the Wrong Things_ is an extreme work in doom 
metal; yet it remains sufficiently dynamic (if one can  use  such  a 
word even in a very relative sense here) to avoid falling  into  the 
more ambient side of things and lose the listener's attention.  It's 
a fine line to tread if you're not overtly ambient funeral doom like 
Firebox's other recent release by Until Death Overtakes Me,  and  My 
Shameful tread it well -- much like Dolorian recently did with their 
excellent self-titled effort. This is a lot heavier sound-wise  than 
Dolorian, but shares the same oppressive, disillusioned abandonment. 
Anyone into serious doom metal is well advised to give this  band  a 
chance, as this is an excellent release that ranks  high  among  the 
best doom albums of recent years and should not fail to please  fans 
of the genre.                                                        

Contact: http://www.firebox.fi


Mykorrhiza - _Mykorrhiza_  (Konqueror Records, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (4 out of 10)

This rather brief (just over  16  minutes  long)  EP  by  Mykorrhiza 
serves as an introduction to the band's  mostly  fast-paced  thrashy 
death metal. Unfortunately, it failed  to  leave  me  in  any  great 
anticipation of the full-length they have released in  the  meantime 
[which will soon be reviewed in CoC]. These Swedes  alternate  their 
death/thrash attack with some unexpected clean vocal  choruses,  and 
whilst the effect is somewhat strange, at least it  gives  the  band 
something to build  upon.  The  flat,  relatively  lo-fi  production 
doesn't help the band at all on this EP, and since there is  neither 
great tightness nor remarkable songwriting to be  found,  the  whole 
affair rapidly becomes forgettable. It's not that this is a terrible 
record;  it  just  doesn't  really  have  anything  good  enough  to 
capture the listener's interest and at least partially disguise  its 
shortcomings.                                                        

Contact: konqueror_records@hotmail.com


Nagelfar - _Virus West_  (Ars Metalli, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8.5 out of 10)

Nagelfar's dynamic, stark and anguished _Hunengrab im  Herbst_  made 
quite an impact on me musically back in 1997 -- hence the 9  out  of 
10 I gave it. The  sprawling,  complex  song  structures  and  sheer 
intensity of _HiH_ would be key to a successful follow-up;  Nagelfar 
were able to fully  deliver  the  former,  but  only  partially  the 
latter. As far as intensity goes, your opinion of  _Virus  West_  is 
likely to depend heavily on whether you are familiar with _Hunengrab 
im Herbst_, because while it -is- quite intense, to me it  seems  to 
fall a bit short in that  respect  after  _HiH_.  The  new  vocalist 
carries on with  a  similar  hysterically  anguished  approach,  but 
doesn't quite reach the same level as his predecessor -- which isn't 
necessarily going to be a bad thing for a lot of  listeners  --  and 
uses less clean vocals. (The album is again entirely sung in German, 
by the way; do not confuse this  band  with  the  Swedish  Naglfar.) 
Instrumentally, the approach is similar too:  Nagelfar's  attack  is 
ferocious yet subtly melodic, with a hint of doom, technically adept 
and well produced. The tracks, mostly clocking  in  at  ten  minutes 
each, take you through a variety of riffs and breaks, while the pace 
remains mostly fast. The mid-paced sections  tend  to  feature  some 
bland riffs and detract  from  the  overall  result,  which  is  the 
album's main drawback. The faster  passages  really  are  what  this 
album is all about, and if I were to consider only  those,  then  my 
rating would have been higher.  A  good  example  can  be  found  in 
"Protokoll Einer Folter", which features some  excellent  fast-paced 
sequences and some weak mid-paced ones.  The  same  silly  keyboards 
featured on that track come  back  to  haunt  the  listener  in  the 
following one, album closer "Meuterei",  but  fortunately  they  are 
used sparingly (provided you skip the mid-album instrumental).  This 
track also features some great fast  passages  and  acoustic  guitar 
bits, again illustrating the frustrating side of this album.  Still, 
these weaker sections are few and far between, and  the  slower  and 
doomier bits are as good as the fast ones. Overall, _Virus West_  is 
a damn good album full of structurally complex  black  metal  epics, 
venomously delivered with good musicianship and production; it  just 
lacks a little more consistency and feeling in order  to  completely 
step out of the shadow of its predecessor.                           

Contact: http://www.arsmetalli.de


Nazxul - _Live_  (Decius Productions, 2002)
by: James Montague  (8.5 out of 10)

It's hard  to  believe  this  band,  formed  in  1993,  avoided  live
performances for their first five years, but there I was  in  October
1998, witnessing the first ever Nazxul stage show. On  that  occasion
they played far too loud, and seemed to lose themselves  in  patches.
But they did have a lot of energy, a mystical façade, and pig's blood
for good measure. Less than a year later, I had procured  the  _Black
Seed_ MCD from which much of the blurred live mayhem had  originated.
Now familiar with the superb  material,  I  returned  to  watch  them
support  Impaled  Nazarene's  Australian  tour  and  demonstrate  the
huge strides  they  had  taken  in  the  live  environment.  With  an
immense sound, vastly improved technical support and  a  consequently
tighter performance, they utterly annihilated their infamous  Finnish
brethren. Now, with this attractive, thick 12" picture LP, the  whole
world can bear witness to this antipodean phenomenon.

The performance opens with some chilling choirs and an invocation  of
the ancient gods of Xul (or something), and a beckoning for the  dead
to  rise  from  their  graves.  This  sets  the  scene  for  Nazxul's
masterwork, "Vow of Vengeance", one of black  metal's  most  stirring
anthems. This is followed by another track from _Black Seed_,  "Under
the Sign of Life's Living End". After  the  creeping  horror  of  the
opening song, this track provides unrelenting,  blasting  power  that
would have completely  immersed  the  audience.  The  riffier,  death
metal-influenced "Distance Begins" is the first of  two  performances
from their debut album, followed by the title track "Totem".  Finally
comes the treat Nazxul fans had patiently  awaited  for  three  years
(and are STILL fucking waiting  for!),  a  pair  of  songs  from  the
_Iconoclast_ LP, which we are assured will eventually  surface,  four
years and counting since its promised release date. These tracks  are
epic, expansive pieces, chock full of  atmospheric  melodic  sections
and mesmerising blasts of mayhem. They bode well for  a  masterpiece,
if and when it sees the light of day.

Now for the sticking point of so many underground  live  albums:  the
sound quality. Rest assured that this  LP  has  crystal-clear  sound,
unlike the many  muffled  tapedeck  recordings  we're  all  used  to.
However, the  one  thing  which  immediately  stood  out  about  this
recording is the prominence of the keyboards. Nazxul's keyboards have
always been a very distant contributor in  their  studio  recordings,
barely noticeable but playing  a  valuable  support  role.  Now  they
almost appear to drive the songs, which is misrepresentative  of  the
Nazxul method. For this reason alone, I would  recommend  novices  to
seek out studio recordings by the band rather than leap  straight  to
the live release. However, the masterful _Black Seed_ EP is  hard  to
find, so maybe you'll just  have  to  buy  this  record  and  try  to
mentally downsize the keyboards!

Contact: http://www.deciusproductions.com/nazxul.htm


Overkill - _Wrecking Everything: An Evening in Asbury Park_  
by: Aaron McKay  (9.5 out of 10)  (Spitfire, 2002)

When you are passionate  or  borderline  fanatical  about  something,
tasks seem less daunting -- even pleasurable. Such is the  case  with
Overkill's career which is laid out as plain as  sunlight  through  a
pane of glass with this new two disc DVD set from the band. This kind
of devotion spills over to even writing this --  a  simple  piece  --
about them. Many hands make light work and all of Overkill's members,
to varying degrees, have carried the cross of their  convictions  and
created a damn fine product here. This DVD set is a great  compliment
to the _Wrecking Everything (Live)_ CD released around the same time.
Always the  study  in  contradiction,  however,  Overkill  lives  and
breathes the mantra "change is the only constant".  Even  D.D.  Verni
wearing a  shirt  with  an  "EVIL"  logo  slapped  across  it  and  a
(right-side up) cross hanging around this neck. Never a  dull  moment
with these boys. This two DVD set is split up with disc one being the
whole live event at Asbury Park (in reply to the "Why not fuckin' New
Jersey?" question) and a behind the  scenes/commentary  interview  on
the second disc. Running a fine, nearly  complete,  cross-section  of
their momentous career, this audio and  visual  experience  puts  you
squarely in the face of the  testosterone-laced  aggression  of  this
band. You can almost taste the beer, smell the smoke  and  wring  the
sweat outta your _Under the Influence_ shirt after 15 minutes of this
two hour DVD.  "Necroshine"  opens  the  set.  Twenty-two  subsequent
Overkill greats follow including "Deny the Cross",  "Hello  From  the
Gutter", "Long Time Dyin'", "Battle", "Evil Never Dies" and "In Union
We Stand". It was a fantastic treat to get  to  see  and  enjoy  "The
Years of Decay" again, as well as hear some brief commentary by Blitz
before the song on this DVD. Speaking of commentary, the second  disc
in this set focuses the magnifying glass on Overkill as a  band,  its
former members  and  some  of  the  inner  workings  associated  with
Overkill as a music machine, touring stories and the band's  business
angle. For the most part, it is a 99 minute VH-1 "Behind  the  Music"
that you've always wanted to see. As the second disc  tells  us,  the
theme of "fire" seems to follow Overkill, but  then  again,  so  does
dichotomy. Unlike too much unpalatable radio fodder, there is no such
thing as overkill with these thrash greats. Here's  to  the  Wrecking
Crew!

Contact: http://www.spitfirerecords.com


Project: Failing Flesh - _Beautiful Sickness_  (Independent, 2003)
by: Adrian Magers  (8 out of 10)

It's not often that an up and coming band can fully gel when  writing
material, and their first release is not  only  extremely  enjoyable,
but easily comparable to (and mistakable for) national acts. Project:
Failing Flesh is one of those rare exceptions. The style they  employ
on _Beautiful Sickness_ (surprisingly, the band's  first  effort)  is
hard to describe, but seems to combine bits of mid-era Testament, old
Fear Factory, a subtle Mercyful Fate slant,  while  introducing  many
interesting new elements. Project: Failing Flesh (who  are  comprised
of instrumentalists Tim Gutierrez and Kevin 131, and  former  Voivod,
current E-Force vocalist Eric Forrest) are eclectic, but  maintain  a
very metallic core. There's an old-school  flavor  to  the  thrashier
numbers, but elements of metalcore and Gothenburg are sparsely thrown
in as well. This band is tough to describe, not because they're doing
something outlandish or unheard of,  but  because  they  blend  their
influences perfectly, and have a very refreshing sound. There's a lot
of surprises on _Beautiful Sickness_, but they all sound  natural.  A
viola solo, layered keyboards,  driving  organ-sounds;  all  centered
around top-notch riffery. If there's any justice in this world,  P:FF
will be signed soon, recruit a few extra members for  live  purposes,
and be exposed to a much wider audience. Currently they're  searching
for a label to release _Beautiful Sickness_ officially to the general
listening public; keep an ear out for that sometime in summer or fall
of this year.

Contact: http://www.projectfailingflesh.com


Quo Vadis - _Passage in Time_  (Skyscraper, 2001)
by: Brian Meloon  (7 out of 10)

Montreal's Quo Vadis should be familiar to longtime CoC readers,  as 
we've covered all of their releases so far: their  1995  self-titled 
demo [CoC #3], _Forever..._ [CoC #18]  and  _Day  Into  Night_  [CoC 
#49], and done two interviews with them [CoC #4, #18]. This album is 
mostly to satiate their fans while  they  write  and  record  a  new 
album. It features one unreleased song from the _DIN_ sessions  ("As 
One"), two re-recorded / re-mixed songs ("Vital Signs",  from  their 
demo, and "Hunter/Killer", from _DIN_), two live tracks ("Dysgenics" 
and "Point of No Return - Mute Requiem", both from _DIN_),  a  video 
for "Dysgenics", and four of the five songs from their demo. It  was 
the songs from their demo which were the most  interesting  for  me. 
It's not that the songs were particularly enjoyable (though I'm sure 
I would've loved them eight years ago), but it's interesting to  see 
how far they've come  in  that  time.  The  key  elements  of  their 
melodic thrash/death metal sound  were  in  place  even  back  then, 
but during the intervening  years,  the  band  have  improved  their 
songwriting and execution (as well as their production!). The  other 
tracks don't really do much  for  me.  "As  One"  and  "Vital  Signs 
2000" aren't particularly outstanding tracks, and while  I  remember 
"Hunter/Killer", I can't immediately pinpoint  what's  different  in 
the remix. The live tracks are pretty good  quality,  but  obviously 
don't capture the full experience of the  live  performance.  Still, 
they show that the band don't need studio tricks to make them  sound 
tight and impressive.  Lastly,  the  video  isn't  very  interesting 
either. It's shot in black and white, and features mainly footage of 
the band playing the song in a small room. Unfortunately, the  video 
and audio aren't synchronized, save for a few parts  where  you  can 
see Arie lip-syncing the lyrics. This means the video is little more 
than a glorified slide-show, and  doesn't  really  warrant  repeated 
viewings. Overall, this is a useful album  for  Quo  Vadis  fans  to 
have, but those interested in checking out the band's technical take 
on melodic death metal should start by picking up _Day Into Night_.  

Contact: http://www.quovadis.qc.ca/


Rapture - _Songs for the Withering_  (Spinefarm, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7.5 out of 10)

_Songs for the Withering_ proves once again that a surprisingly good 
debut does not guarantee  a  great  second  album.  Rapture's  debut 
_Futile_ really hit the spot  when  it  came  out,  its  revival  of 
Katatonia's _Brave Murder Day_ infused with a bleak character of its 
very own. As a result, it kept visiting my CD player with remarkable 
frequency for an unusually long period of time,  and  I  would  have 
happily given it a 9 out of 10. _Songs for  the  Withering_  is  the 
disappointment that follows the pleasant surprise --  but  truth  be 
told, its first 1:15 left me so gutted that everything that followed 
was an improvement. My disappointment was caused by  Rapture  losing 
some  of  the  emotional  qualities  of  the  depressive  and  bleak 
_Futile_. They have tried too hard to make a lot of songs on  _SftW_ 
catchy, at the same time as they went  for  more  chorus-based  song 
structures (the  last  track,  "Farewell",  is  basically  the  only 
exception). This plays a considerable part in wrecking some  of  the 
emotional qualities  the  album  might  have  had,  but  Katatonia's 
_Discouraged Ones_ proved years  ago  that  chorus-based  structures 
do not necessarily have  that  effect  every  time.  In  fact,  what 
contributed most to my disappointment with _Songs for the Withering_ 
was that so many of Rapture's excellent, emotional guitar leads have 
been replaced by simple, dull riffs. A lot more clean vocals can  be 
found on the album, as Petri Eskelainen no  longer  does  the  harsh 
vox. A new vocalist  was  brought  in  for  that  purpose,  and  his 
performance is acceptable, apart from the mediocre blackened vocals. 
I still prefer the more subdued clean vocal approach on _Rapture_ to 
the hit-and-miss affair on this one (which can be  heard  in  tracks 
like "The Great Distance"), but this isn't a major gripe. There  are 
still some excellent passages on this album, but as usual  in  these 
cases they seem to make the rest all the more difficult  to  endure. 
For instance, there are some great bits on "Transfixion",  but  then 
there's the song's  irritating  chorus;  similarly,  the  fine  main 
guitar lead on "Enveloped" is practically wasted  because  of  other 
sections on the song; and "Farewell" is a closing track that  leaves 
you wishing more of the album had  been  like  it.  _Songs  for  the 
Withering_ is a good album nonetheless, and I am probably making  it 
seem worse than it is for those  who  don't  know  Rapture;  but  it 
ultimately leaves the listener who does know _Futile_ with a feeling 
that so much more could have been accomplished and the  album  could 
have -meant- a whole lot more. These Finns do have  immense  talent, 
but it only occasionally shines through as brightly as it should  on 
_Songs for the  Withering_;  but  if  they  can  find  a  consistent 
direction again, there will surely be an excellent third album.      

Contact: http://www.rapture.tk


Revenge - _Triumph, Genocide, Antichrist_  
by: Matthias Noll  (9 out of 10)  (Osmose Productions, 2003)

Ferocious, rabid, insane -- words  that  have  lost  much  of  their 
impact due to their overuse in reviews, bios,  ads  and  interviews. 
Bearing that in mind, I'm really having trouble trying to  find  the 
appropriate words to describe this release.  But  it  seems  I  have 
no other choice than  dig  out  the  well-trusted  "Guide  to  Metal 
Adjectives" and claim that this is indeed the most ferocious,  rabid 
and insane record I've ever  heard.  Revenge  comes  from  the  same 
bottomless  pits  that  have  given  birth  to  acts  like  Beherit, 
Blasphemy and Bestial Warlust. This release is part of the school of 
black grind or war metal, which fuses grindcore and death metal with 
black metal aesthetics  and  consciously  sacrifices  tightness  and 
controlled playing to be able to unleash the highest possible  level 
of animalistic rage and fury.  On  this,  their  first  full-length, 
Revenge easily manage to top their MCD as well as all the  Conqueror 
output I've  heard.  This  is  partially  due  to  a  thicker,  more 
appropriate  sound.  It's  still  impossible  to  clearly  make  out 
everything  that's  going  on,  especially  during  your  first  few 
encounters with  _Triumph,  Genocide,  Antichrist_.  But  this  time 
there's a lot more punch, especially when  it  comes  to  the  aptly 
described Sturmgeschuetz attack  bass  commanded  by  Pete  Helmkamp 
(ex-Angelcorpse). The slower sections have also been  improved,  and 
they fiercely  beat  the  listener  into  submission  in  a  totally 
barbaric way -- one  even  more  primitive  than  Hellhammer.  There 
aren't many such sections, but they manage to give the  total  chaos 
that manifests  itself  as  _TGA_  a  slightly  more  comprehensible 
form. Finally, the sparse but well-placed vocal  contributions  from 
Helmkamp add extra hooks and textures while  providing  the  perfect 
contrast to J. Read's almost unbearably  hysterical  and  overdriven 
wail. Let me warn you, however: if because of Helmkamp's involvement 
you think that this is comparable to Angelcorpse,  then  you  should 
just stay away from this album. This is indeed a totally  different, 
much meaner and uglier affair. This IS the apocalypse pressed on CD. 


Sammath - _Verwoesting - Devastation_  (Folter Records, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6 out of 10)

Sammath try to mix the fury of  black  and  brutal  death  metal  on 
_Verwoesting - Devastation_. Pretty bog-standard  talk  these  days, 
wouldn't you say? Indeed, Sammath are hardly the first band  to  try 
this combination. The thing is, they do it in a pretty unusual  way. 
This is mostly due to their sound, which  is  built  upon  extremely 
distorted, artificial-sounding  guitars  and  a  drum  machine  that 
spends most of the time near overdrive --  which  doesn't  make  the 
overall result sound any less artificial. The  one  man  responsible 
for all this also spews forth black  metal  rasps,  while  a  second 
member was brought in for the  death  growls.  A  lot  of  the  time 
the music is hardly remarkable,  thriving  only  on  its  aggressive 
qualities. However, on certain tracks -- such as "Devastation", "The 
Timeless Splendour of Chaos" and "Verwoesting" -- Sammath manage  to 
conjure up a good black guitar lead and give their music a whole new 
dimension compared to the dull percussive riffing that takes up  the 
majority of the album. The  strange  production  can  become  rather 
tiring after some time, but some credit must be given to Sammath for 
this highly aggressive record -- at least for about half of it.      

Contact: http://www.sammath.nl


Sargatanas Reign - _Euthanasia... Last Resort_  
by: Pedro Azevedo  (5 out of 10)  (I Hate Records, 2002)

In spite of the Darkthrone-y band logo and some lyrics  having  been 
written by Marduk's Morgan Hakansson, Sargatanas Reign are  actually 
a death metal band with quite a bit of Morbid  Angel  and  Death  in 
their sound. Mixing old-school and a more  technical  approach,  the 
band reaches some rather  good  moments,  such  as  the  first  half 
of instrumental "Last Resort"  and  the  fast  bits  on  "Hate"  and 
"Evangelical Clitorial". But while this album  is  not  without  its 
highlights, most of the time all the listener gets is rather generic 
riffs and solos. Apparently the record was  self-produced,  and  the 
sound  quality  is  nothing  to  brag  about:  though  the  bass  is 
clearly audible, the overall result seriously lacks crunch and  that 
complicates things a bit further. The good bits do show promise, and 
had there been more of them on the  album  and  a  better  sound  to 
deliver them, then this could have been a rather enjoyable disc -- I 
wouldn't be too surprised if that's the case next time around.       

Contact: http://www.sargatanasreign.com


Satanic Warmaster - _Black Katharsis_  (Northern Heritage, 2002)
by: Matthias Noll  (8 out of 10)

Satanic Warmaster's debut, the ripping _Strength and Honour_, is  one
of the most devastating, mercilessly aggressive black metal  releases
I've been introduced  to  in  recent  months.  My  expectations  that
Satanic Tyrant Werewolf and Lord War Torech would continue in exactly
the same direction on this three-track EP weren't  quite  on  target,
however. _Black Katharsis_ is exclusively kept in a slow to mid-paced
approach, and all compositions focus heavily on depressing  and  much
more atmospheric and epic melodies than previous material. This  time
the recording is a bit more balanced and easier to digest than _SaH_,
but remains raw and perfectly appropriate for the material on _BK_. I
still fail to see a logical connection to the style on their debut or
demo -- this EP could have been the work of a totally different  band
-- but on  its  own,  _BK_  is  an  excellent  slab  of  mesmerizing,
melancholic and depressive black metal.  I'm  quite  anxious  to  see
which path  Satanic  Warmaster  will  be  pursuing  on  their  second
full-length album _Opferblut_, which will be out  in  April  2003  on
Germany's No Colours Records. Fortunately Northern Heritage have just
re-released _Strength and Honour_ in an unlimited CD version, and I'd
like to take the opportunity and urge everyone who's into underground
black metal to check this album out.

Contact: http://personal.inet.fi/private/kult/main.html


Serpent Eclipse - _The Seven Desires & Wolves' Blood_  
by: Quentin Kalis  (8 out of 10)  (Oaken Shield / Adipocere , 2002)

American black metal has generally been considered inferior to  their
Old World counterparts with only a handful considered to be on a  par
in terms of quality. This may be  Serpent  Eclipse's  first  official
release (_Thy Bleeding Heavens_  contained  demo  versions  of  songs
featured on this release and was only distributed to media  outlets),
but he (solo-project time  again)  may  become  part  of  that  small
and  elite  group.  Serpent  Eclipse  successfully  fuses  the  grim,
misanthropic atmosphere of the black metal  of  old  with  futuristic
electronic elements, creating a harsh and unforgiving, yet incredibly
intense release. The use of a drum machine amplifies the overall cold
feel of the CD, but the guitar manages to  retain  enough  warmth  to
prevent this release from sounding too clinical. Serpent  Eclipse  do
not place as much emphasis on the  electronic  aspects  as  Norwegian
counterparts  Dodheimsgard  or  The  Kovenant,  nor  is  _TSDaWB_  as
groundbreaking as _La Masquerade Infernale_  --  but  the  relatively
restrained use of electronica on _TSDaWB_ perhaps explains why it  is
considerably more aggressive than say, _666 International_.  This  is
an exhilarating and innovative release by a band that is  not  afraid
to expand upon pre-defined and unecessary limitations.


Shadows Fall - _The Art of Balance_  (Century Media, 2002)
by: Adrian Magers  (9 out of 10)

Shadows Fall are a  band  that  has  been  making  waves  with  their
blend of old-school thrash tendencies,  Gothenburg-esque  leads,  and
souped-up hard rock elements featured on _The Art of Balance_. Always
a band to put out more  or  less  solid  material  (_Of  One  Blood_,
_Somber Eyes to the Sky_), Shadows Fall have  put  forth  their  best
effort by far and are poised to take the metal realm by  the  throat.
This album has propelled them from  being  a  fairly  well-known  New
England metalcore band, to being featured in just  about  every  last
major metal magazine and truly becoming a force  in  American  metal.
Century Media has provided well for the band, and for the first  time
in a long time, we see a band can live up to its  hype.  This  record
would please a music fan looking for the grind/groove diversity of  a
band like Killswitch Engage, Unearth, or Diecast with  an  old-school
thrashy edge. Shadows Fall  takes  elements  from  different  scenes,
different decades, and creates their own personal blend. We hear bits
of Metallica and Megadeth at the top of their games (_...And  Justice
For All_ and _Rust in Peace_ respectively), mixed with a  second-hand
Maiden influence, by way of Gothenburg death. I also can't  help  but
occasionally be reminded of middle-era Carcass during the  grittiest,
most wind-mill inducing  moments  on  _The  Art  of  Balance_.  After
successfully touring with Kittie and  Mushroomhead,  experiencing  an
impressive amount of airplay of their  video  for  "Thoughts  Without
Words", and landing an upcoming  stint  on  Ozzfest,  it  seems  that
Shadows Fall are not only poised for personal greatness, but have the
potential to help spearhead a new and refreshing metal movement.

Contact: http://www.shadowsfall.com


Slaine - _NON_  (Independent, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6.5 out of 10)

This was probably recorded as more of a  demo  than  an  independent 
commercial release, but with the  professional  production  and  the 
digipak format it definitely gains a potentially wider reach. Slaine 
play reasonably technical death metal with frequently prominent bass 
lines and occasional  thrash  influences.  The  music  is  sometimes 
technical, some other  times  it  gets  faster  or  heavier;  Slaine 
usually keep it varied enough.  This  Swiss  band  comes  across  as 
enthusiastic about their music, which  leads  to  some  pretty  good 
moments on this EP.  They  are  also  adept  performers  and  decent 
songwriters, and  benefit  from  the  solid  production.  The  music 
is neither  groundbreaking  nor  irresistibly  enthralling,  but  it 
generally remains quite enjoyable and dynamic. This is a good effort 
by this unsigned band; I wouldn't be surprised if their next release 
sees them signed to a label.                                         

Contact: http://www.slaine.ch


Solstafir - _Black Death_  (Ketzer Recs. / Neodawn Prod., 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis  (8 out of 10)

I don't believe that I've ever heard a  CD  from  an  Icelandic  act 
before -- unless one wants to count  the  decidedly  less-than-metal 
Bjork --  and  the  only  other  Icelandic  band  I'm  aware  of  is 
Potentiam, but if Solstafir are an accurate indicator of  the  state 
of Icelandic metal, then what few bands  there  are  must  be  worth 
hearing. Solstafir started out as a black metal orientated act,  but 
have altered  their  style  considerably  since  their  early  days, 
incorporating a number of influences into their sound, ranging  from 
rock to modern hardcore; yet they are still undeniably a metal band. 
They screeching vocals and abrasive  guitars  are  balanced  out  by 
melodic sections while  the  varied  tempo  ensures  it  never  gets 
boring. The lyrics to "13:13", as well as their appropriation of the 
vodka brand for  their  album  title  and  cover  suggest  that  one 
shouldn't take this band too seriously.  It's  a  pity  though  that 
there are only three songs -- hopefully Solstafir are working  on  a 
full-length. Co-released on the  now  defunct  Neodawn  Productions, 
copies should hopefully still be available from Ketzer Records.  Get 
them while you can.                                                  

Contact: http://www.ketzer-records.com


Stand-Up Guy - _Immobiliare_  (Distortion Project, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7.5 out of 10)

Glancing at the band's biography moments before playing this EP  for 
the first time, I had no idea what  to  expect:  I  had  superficial 
knowledge at best of  the  bands  it  said  Stand-Up  Guy  had  been 
compared to (Neurosis being the closest to an exception), and barely 
knew any of the bands they were said  to  have  toured  with.  Plus, 
Stand-Up Guy is hardly a common kind of band name.  Looking  at  the 
band's website, they describe their attitude as being all about  the 
music and nothing else; the  quote  "Thank  you  for  your  time,  I 
know you could be doing  other  things  rather  than  reading  this" 
illustrates how down-to-earth this Northern Irish band seems to  be. 
So what about the music then? Initially it reminded  me  vaguely  of 
Burnt by the Sun, but there really is a lot more to  it  that  comes 
from very different realms. After the aggressive manner in which the 
EP begins,  things  move  into  a  more  pensive,  melancholic  mood 
following a brief spoken passage; the agonizing screamed vocals laid 
atop the pounding drums and the vaguely melodic chords  continue  to 
create a strong atmosphere, and  the  music  definitely  seizes  the 
attention. As the opening track ends with a doomy section  and  some 
double-bass drumming, it becomes clear that the songwriting  is  far 
from your everyday chorus-based structure. The track ends and segues 
into a tense movie sample,  mixed  with  a  string  background  that 
creates an excellent build-up into the song itself. The  mood  stays 
dark throughout this instrumental track, a lot  of  anger  that  was 
clearly visible during the first  song  now  more  subdued  --  this 
second track, titled "Dead Eyes", serves as an epilogue  to  the  EP 
opener "Fra Diavalo!". Thoroughly impressed so far, I was a bit  let 
down by the lightweight, clean vocal based approach that opened  the 
third and last track "Right Angles, Wrong  Angles".  The  simplistic 
main guitar riff did very little to help, but the other instrumental 
passages still bode well for the rest  of  the  song,  which  indeed 
raises in intensity after the three minute mark with the  return  of 
the screamed vocals. The clean vocals  themselves  aren't  bad,  and 
they return later in the track with somewhat better results before a 
doomy section concludes the EP. Hints of present day Katatonia  come 
to mind in some of the guitar work, but it really is hard to compare 
Stand-Up Guy to other bands. For such a short  EP  I  won't  risk  a 
higher rating than this, but what I  can  say  is  that  I  am  well 
impressed and will be looking forward to a full-length.              

Contact: http://www.stand-upguy.com


Strapping Young Lad - _SYL_  (Century Media, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose  (8 out of 10)

When Devin Townsend released  the  _City_  album  back  in  1998,  he
pointed out that this would be the last Strapping Young Lad  release.
In an interview, he  confessed  the  reason:  most  of  his  projects
revolve around a certain drug/medicine he was taking at that  moment,
and he had completely given up on the drug that inspired  him  to  do
Strapping Young Lad. With his anger and psychosis more under control,
his newer work showed less chaos and more structure and was  released
under his Physicist moniker. Until 9/11  happened.  Inspired  by  the
tragic events in New York, Devin began working  on  a  new  Strapping
Young Lad album of which the result, _SYL_, lies here before me. I've
been steadily playing it over the last two months, but it's  hard  to
come to a closing conclusion about it.

What attracts me in _SYL_ is the vileness of the songs and lyrics. To
call it 'war music' might be overstepping it a little, but  'war'  is
definitely  in  the  music.  Leaning  more  towards  death  metal  in
especially the guitar/drum combination, _SYL_  is  heavier  than  the
first two releases. On the other hand, Strapping Young Lad has always
been about a total frantic, uncontrolled,  chaotic  and  over-the-top
way of making music. _SYL_ is way too melodic and conventional to fit
being a direct successor to the first two albums, and I  assume  that
is exactly what is disappointing to me about this album. _City_ is in
every respect a better album than _SYL_, because the latter lacks the
impact of leaving you breathless and wondering  what  the  fuck  just
happened. If you're in it  for  the  melodics,  _SYL_  is  passed  on
the other side by Devin  Townsend's  other  new  album  (_Accelerated
Evolution_).

On the other hand, yes -- _SYL_ is a good album. An excellent  album,
compared to most of the other releases I've listened to lately.  Some
of  the  songs  keep  sticking  to  you  ("Relentless",  "Aftermath",
"Devour"), and the production is quite decent. I guess  it  would  be
best to give this album a try yourself.

Contact: http://www.strappingyounglad.com


Tefra - _7/10ths to Madness_  (Independent, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6 out of 10)

Unashamedly sporting  a  distinct  Black  Sabbath  influence,  Tefra 
do  their  best  to  keep  their  sound  fresh  in  spite  of  that. 
Everything is in place, including the heavy guitar grooves  and  the 
Ozzy-like vocals. Considering the  handicap  of  not  bringing  much 
innovation to the table, Tefra's music needed to have some  sort  of 
outstanding qualities  in  order  to  give  the  listener  something 
worthwhile. Unfortunately, while the band  is  certainly  competent, 
their songwriting doesn't seem to  be  quite  good  enough  to  make 
people really notice them: the songs  aren't  especially  memorable, 
and their style is very  unidimensional  throughout.  As  a  result, 
_7/10ths to Madness_ is a fun EP to play, but it is  forgettable  in 
the long run. I  won't  say  that  Tefra  need  to  find  their  own 
identity, because they don't seem to be interested  in  trying  very 
hard at all in that area.  What  they  do  need  is  to  take  their 
songwriting ability to a new level in order to stand  out  from  the 
crowd.                                                               

Contact: http://www.tefra.org


Teratism - _Ex Infernus_  (Root of All Evil, 2002)
by: Aaron McKay  (4 out of 10)

Violently subdued and  muted,  this  four  track  offering  from  the
darkest reaches of  North  America  (Minnesota,  apparently)  is  the
consummate definition of "raw". Cuts one and two come from Teratism's
self-titled demo, whereas track three is lifted from  the  _Invocatum
Furae Diabolis_ EP. The final song on _Ex Infernus_ is a live version
of the fist track, "Resurrection Denied". While "Hate", number two on
the CD count, is the best of the  offerings  here,  it  is  also  the
most discordant and strident. It,  for  whatever  reason,  harbors  a
reoccurring raucous and unmusical "chop" that is wholly  unnecessary.
The guitar solo, on the other hand, is passionate  and  befitting  to
this type of depravity.  If  under-produced,  toothless  black  metal
abandonment is gnawing at you to own, Teratism is just  the  band  to
gum you to death. Personally, I prefer more bite for my buck.


The Prophecy - _Ashes_  (Independent, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7 out of 10)

Having  found  The  Prophecy's  _To  End  All  Hope_   demo   rather 
interesting, I was pleased to receive  this  independently  released 
full-length from the band. Expecting more  early-'90s  British  doom 
revival as the first track kicked in, I was taken aback by how  much 
the  band's  sound  seemed  to  have  changed  compared  to  what  I 
remembered of their  demo.  The  first  track  on  _Ashes_  is  more 
laid-back and atmospheric metal-tinged, as the band seemed  to  have 
mellowed a bit instrumentally, opting  for  a  more  straightforward 
metal approach in place of doom dirges. Later in the album  stronger 
doom influences surface, as indicated by  the  superbly  melancholic 
ending of the opening track, and overall the  music  is  still  very 
much doom-oriented. The best sequence in the album  comes  near  the 
end of the second track, a re-recording of "The Killing Fields" from 
their demo: an acoustic guitar interlude leads into "The  Prophecy", 
a more melancholic, My Dying Bride-ish track.  The  band  then  goes 
into thrashy mode later in the album, before closing  on  a  doomier 
note again with the re-recording of "Till Light Enshrouds". I  would 
have preferred more of the dreary material such  as  "The  Prophecy" 
and "Till Light Enshrouds" and less of  the  atmospheric  metal  and 
faster stuff, but things are kept pleasant throughout. The  Prophecy 
continue to show promise as they reach several excellent moments  on 
_Ashes_, and the experience they must have gathered participating in 
the recent Doomination of Europe tour  (with  Morgion  and  Mourning 
Beloveth) will surely be useful  in  the  future.  Considering  this 
is only their first  album,  The  Prophecy  are  likely  to  further 
consolidate their style and come back with a superior  release  next 
time around.                                                         

Contact: http://clix.to/theprophecy/


The Quill - _Voodoo Caravan_  (Steamhammer / SPV, 2002)
by: Aaron McKay  (5 out of 10)

While this CD will see little playing time on my JVC stereo, I  think
this effort is at least a  half-step  above  most  '70s-esque  stoner
metal. While I note the band is in the vein of  Kyuss  and  Spiritual
Beggers (complete with a solo from Michael Amott), I  hear  a  strong
tie to Badlands more than anything else.  Without  the  Jake  E.  Lee
smooth style to make  the  comparison  complete,  The  Quill  have  a
_Voodoo Highway_  quality  present,  the  similarity  in  titles  not
withstanding. "Shapes of Afterlife" has a nice heavy sludge  feel  to
it that piques my interest, but does next to nothing  to  capture  my
long-term attraction. After two previous offerings,  The  Quill  have
wafted onto a nice updraft with _Voodoo Caravan_. Lowrider and Nebula
influences are not as  overwhelming  as  you  might  envision;  these
Swedes donate their all to the cause. Falling a  bit  short  in  this
reviewer's opinion (see "The Earth Is Bitter Gone", for  example),  I
see hope here and there on this CD.  Other  than  the  far-too-seldom
oasis, the material on this desert parchment finds itself  ultimately
rooted  in  little  more  than  sand  where  musical  originality  is
concerned. Rhythm, for the most part, is consistant on _VC_, but  The
Quill's panache leaves me dying of thirst for more  than  the  status
quo.


Thy Repentance / Nuclear Winter - _Split_  
by: Pedro Azevedo  (7 out of 10)  (Noughtscape Productions, 2003)

This very sleekly presented split CD,  Noughtscape's  first  release 
(limited to 500 hand-numbered copies), consists of Thy  Repentance's 
_Control Shot or  Halls  of  the  Red_  and  Nuclear  Winter's  _Ode 
to War (Apotheosis  of  Hate)_.  Neither  band  plays  your  average 
black metal: Thy  Repentance  focus  on  mingling  it  with  ambient 
and militaristic  influences,  while  Nuclear  Winter  opt  for  the 
hypnotic and  post-apocalyptic.  Thy  Repentance  feature  a  rather 
prominent bass in their  setup,  and  alternate  ambient  parts  and 
straightforward, evenly paced, cold black metal.  Their  six  tracks 
were packed into a continuous one for  greater  impact,  ensuring  a 
continuous flow between the ambient and black metal elements. Midway 
through the resulting 27 minute track, one is surprised  to  hear  a 
relatively long acoustic guitar interlude; its desolate  sound  fits 
the atmosphere well, and it fades away as a crowd's sampled cries of 
fear rise and give way to Thy Repentance's black metal  once  again. 
Thy Repentance's track ends in comparatively silly fashion thanks to 
some poor vocals.                                                    

Nuclear Winter contribute two tracks, weighing in at  over  half  an 
hour in all. Hypnotic, gloomy, based on atmospheric keyboard  dirges 
and a guitar buzz in the background, Nuclear Winter  go  as  far  as 
replacing the  old  black  metal  rasp  with  a  despondent,  morose 
distorted voice to increase the doom in their sound. Variations  are 
few and far  between,  as  Nuclear  Winter  make  no  compromise  in 
achieving their hypnotic musical  goal.  Early  on,  the  repetitive 
pattern of the percussion is rather inadequate for the music, but it 
eventually changes into something equally simple  and  less  jarring 
and ends up changing back and forth between  the  two.  The  second, 
eight minute  long  track,  is  almost  entirely  dark  ambient  and 
features only some spoken vocals, with the guitars  and  drums  (and 
bells!) only coming in near the end.  Although  different  from  the 
first track, it maintains the same general feeling.                  

This split CD harvests a significant amount of its  marks  from  the 
atmosphere it manages to create, as neither band's  black  metal  is 
amazing per se. Nevertheless, the two  of  them  together,  combined 
with the ambient bits, sombre layout and the whole attitude,  ensure 
this is a release that dedicated fans  of  underground  black  metal 
should definitely consider acquiring.                                

Contact: http://www.noughtscape.com


Tomahawk - _Tomahawk_  (Ipecac, 2002)
by: Xander Hoose  (8.5 out of 10)

Musical centipede Mike Patton has worked on  quite  a  lot  of  bands
and albums lately,  some  more  impressive  than  others,  but  never
letting down. Four-piece Tomahawk revolves around Patton,  using  his
trademark vocals as the driving strength of the songs while exploring
new musical  terrority.  The  album  opens  very,  very  strong  with
"Flashback" and especially "101 North", giving Patton the opportunity
of showcasing plenty of different vocal styles  without  forcing  too
much. His recent performance with The Dillinger Escape Plan in  mind,
"101 North" is not even that big a step away. Though much  more  laid
back, Tomahawk also favours addictive  riffing  over  pure  technical
musicianship. Especially "God Hates a Coward", my favourite  song  of
the album, is honestly straightforward: once you've heard it, there's
no way of getting it out of your head.  People  looking  for  a  more
aggressive side are also served,  on  "POP  1"  and  "Sir  Yes  Sir".
However, the Foetus-ish  "Jockstrap"  more  or  less  serves  as  the
turning point of the album, as it is followed by songs that are  much
weaker and less  impressive.  "Malocchio"  misses  a  good  vibe  and
"Honeymoon" sounds a lot  like  other  songs  on  the  album.  Closer
"Narcosis" might be humorous, but nonetheless sub par. _Tomahawk_  is
a very entertaining album that has certain songs you won't be able to
forget, but on the whole it is a bit disappointing. Let's hope for  a
follow-up soon.


UDO - _Man and Machine_  (Breaker/SPV, 2002)
by: Aaron McKay  (4 out of 10)

UDO's solo material is mostly tough for  me  to  accept  (pardon  the
pun). This album constitutes an obvious throwback to  the  long  gone
glory days with the his former band.  UDO  (also  known  as  Mr.  Udo
Dirkschneider) is still as easily recognizable vocally  on  _Man  and
Machine_ as RuPaul performing at a taping of  the  700  Club.  Mostly
consisting of horribly unimaginative rhymes put  to  very  predicable
metal licks, this disc, needless to say, does little to challenge the
listener. This is also about the same effort put  into  keeping  that
same listener's attention, by the way. By the  same  token,  UDO  has
never been a trendsetter, so making the aforementioned comment may be
obvious to old fans of _Balls to the Wall_. _MaM_ has a ways to go to
be categorized with _Eat the Heat_  --  when  Accept  employed  David
Reece in 1989 -- but  UDO  seems  to  be  blazing  a  trail  in  that
direction. Without tracks like the deplorably repetitive "Dawn of the
Gods", one might almost be able  to  stomach  the  ballad  with  Doro
Pesch, "Dancing with an Angel", wishing the entire time  it  was  the
toxic waltz instead a vision of Night of the Living Dead on the dance
floor. If you can separate  the  highly  cool  distinctiveness  found
within UDO's  vocal  talents  from  the  drivel  spit  forth  in  the
unbearable lyrics, the predictability of the songs may very well lull
you into acceptance. Man? Machine? Metal? Who knows... If you're into
reading the end of a book before tackling the novel itself, this disc
may be to your liking, too.


Until Death Overtakes Me - _Prelude to Monolith_  
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)  (Firebox Records, 2003)

Until Death Overtakes Me is guaranteed to at least double  the  dark 
clouds in your sky in one hour. In fact, if you close your eyes  and 
really pay attention, I think you will be able  to  see  the  clouds 
gathering. The music created by this Belgian one-man project can  be 
summed up thus: extremely  slow,  depressive  and  atmospheric  doom 
metal. Even though the band name was taken  from  My  Dying  Bride's 
"Black God" lyrics (as the bio humbly points out), this  is  a  very 
different affair. The music  features  church-like  organ,  rumbling 
death vocals, very sparse percussion, a Summoning-like  guitar  buzz 
and occasional plucking of sombre strings. The tracks can  range  up 
to over 20 minutes in length, and lack the kind  of  structure  that 
might make you call them songs, often  even  bordering  on  ambient. 
Those of you in the know will be thinking  Skepticism  by  now,  and 
indeed that is the closest match to  _Prelude  to  Monolith_  I  can 
think of. The music remains exceptionally bleak throughout: it never 
picks up speed or goes into a riff of any  kind;  instead,  it  just 
floats on the black wings of the organ dirges and  sporadic  booming 
percussion. The guitar buzz simply sits in  the  background  without 
ever forming a distinguishable riff, nor do the barely  human  death 
vocals ever form a recognizable word. It should come as no  surprise 
that the album has considerable hypnotic qualities -- or it  may  be 
likely to induce sleep in case you're not into this kind of music. A 
very extreme and worthwhile release exclusively for  dedicated  fans 
of funeral doom.                                                     

Contact: http://www.firebox.fi


Uphill Battle - _Uphill Battle_  (Relapse, 2002)
by: Aaron McKay  (4.5 out of 10)

When this California four piece  focus  their  energy  appropriately,
they hemorrhage the essence of grind. Unfortunately,  not  a  lot  of
their attention seems directed in  this  vein  on  their  nine  track
debut. I am of the impression that a  hardcore/grindcore  combination
is the brass ring Uphill Battle are on a campaign to grab. While  I'm
as open as they come where varying vocal  styles  are  concerned,  UB
has  some  definite  issues  in  this  area.  Joe,  the  bassist  and
throat-culture donor, sounds strikingly similar to a hill dwarf  that
mistakenly tried to forge his own "ball bearings", if  you  catch  my
meaning. Subtracting the  howls-of-pain-like  vocals,  Uphill  Battle
change up the tempo more than  an  acid-dropping,  schizophrenic  DJ.
That's okay with me, I have no problem telling ya, as is the nice  n'
deep, underutilized bass playing littering this  self-titled  effort.
The songs on this offering are very well composed and, for  the  most
part, interesting as far as things  go  lyrically  and  structurally.
"Old" is the finest example of  most  everything  mentioned  in  this
review, including the masturbating ferret-like vocals, but this track
is my preferred cut off the CD. Ending this disc with "Playing  Dead"
was perfect. The song is audibly very digestible and segues well into
the little end of nothing whittled down to  a  point  we've  come  to
expect throughout this debut from Uphill Battle.


Vader - _Revelations_  (Metal Blade, 2002)
by: Matthias Noll  (9 out of 10)

In the guise of "just another Vader record", _Revelations_ found  its
way into my CD player, and during the first couple of listens  failed
to leave much of an impression other than that. Sure,  the  sound  is
totally top-notch, creating a physical punch coming at you  from  the
speakers, even on low volume. And...  what  else?  Well,  it  sounded
typically  Vader,  with  their  most  powerful  production  ever.  My
perception started to change when I got back to this record after  my
slight initial disappointment had worn off, and the more  I  listened
to it, the brighter I saw the light. With the typical  beating  Vader
style one gets with _Revelations_, the band  has  introduced  certain
additional elements which work extremely well. First of all, there is
the incorporation of some wickedly  cool  and  grooving  heavy  metal
riffs. The band has also developed a more diverse use of pace,  which
helps to accentuate the heaviness of some sections  as  well  as  the
insane speed of others. Don't get  this  wrong:  Vader  did  not  get
softer or less fast than before; it's just not speed, speed and  more
speed from start to finish. Let me put it this way: if  _Litany_  was
Vader's _Reign in Blood_ -- and believe me, Vader is one of  the  two
or three bands on this planet where such a comparison is  justifiable
-- _Revelations_ is their _Seasons in the Abyss_.  The  guitar  solos
are another point worth mentioning. I always felt that the solos were
one of the few weak points in Vader's music, but  this  time  there's
more soloing than ever -- with the difference that Peter finally  got
away from worshipping Kerry King's whammy bar and  instead  delivered
some  really  cool  lead  work  with  a  clear  Vader  identity.  Doc
once again shows that he's one  of  the  best  death  metal  drummers
around. His speed, precision, and ability to effortlessly and  within
milliseconds accelerate from extremely fast to even  faster  blasting
is breathtaking time and time again.  His  style  may  not  the  most
technical in a world of Roddys and Mouniers, but his sense of  rhythm
and especially his incredible breaks and fills are  totally  amazing.
So, what's preventing this record from getting 10 out  of  10?  First
off, I don't want to give the highest rating to anything that  hasn't
stood the test of time. Secondly,  "The  Nomad"  is  an  obvious  but
inferior attempt to write  another  "Xeper",  definitely  one  of  my
all-time favourite death metal tracks. "Xeper" is  proof  that  Vader
can do better, and had it been on _Revelations_ instead  of  _Litany_
this would have been a 9.5. This minor gripe set aside, I'm convinced
this is the best death metal record of 2002.


Various - _Better Undead Than Alive_  (Code666, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (8 out of 10)

Here's a new concept: a label compilation that's really  interesting 
for the average listener. That's what Code666 have  worked  hard  to 
produce with this _Better Undead Than Alive_ double  CD.  Throughout 
the compilation, all the tracks have been merged together to  create 
a continuous flow, and the songs themselves  were  chosen  not  only 
with a view to represent each band's sound but to  fit  the  overall 
mood of the compilation as  well.  The  material  on  offer  can  be 
divided intro  three  kinds:  remastered  album  tracks,  unreleased 
advance tracks and exclusive compilation tracks. The two CDs feature 
a total of 24 songs, ranging from one to  three  from  each  of  the 
following bands: Void of Silence, Aborym, Diabolicum, Thee  Maldoror 
Kollective, Rakoth, Bloodshed, Enid, Negura Bunget, Handful of Hate, 
Ephel Duath, Aghora, Atrox, Manes, Unmoored and  Abortus.  There  is 
little point in examining each of the  bands  individually  on  this 
review, as most  of  them  have  either  already  been  reviewed  in 
CoC or are likely to  be  at  some  stage.  The  mood  is  generally 
dark, leaning mostly towards more-or-less technological black  metal 
(Aborym, Diabolicum, Thee Maldoror Kollective and, with a major doom 
component, Void of Silence), but  remains  varied  while  trying  to 
avoid undesirably jarring contrasts. Not that you don't get  a  few, 
though -- sandwiching Bloodshed's powerful black/death metal between 
Rakoth's and Enid's brands of  medieval/fantasy  heavy/black  metal, 
for instance, could scarcely have had  a  different  result.  It  is 
Romania's mystical black metallers Negura Bunget who  pick  up  from 
there, so you can imagine the  contrast  with  Enid's  minstrel-like 
vocals. Handful of  Hate,  another  ripping  black/death  act,  then 
precede Ephel Duath's avantgarde black metal in a similarly  jarring 
passage. This is then followed by Aghora's and  Atrox's  progressive 
female-fronted material, in a  much  better  flowing  sequence  that 
temporarily drags  the  focus  of  the  compilation  away  from  the 
darker shades, before Void  of  Silence  close  the  first  CD  with 
their doom/black metal. The second  CD's  first  half  is  mostly  a 
continuation of the first CD's second half,  with  more  lightweight 
bands such as Rakoth, Atrox and Enid taking up most of  its  playing 
time, in spite of efforts by Thee Maldoror Kollective and  Unmoored. 
From there on, the second CD becomes a lot more like the first  half 
of  the  first  CD  (feeling  lost  yet?),  with  the  darker  bands 
dominating until the end (questionable techno  remix  of  an  Aborym 
track included). Considering that this is a  showcase  for  all  the 
bands  on  Code666,  it  is  hardly  a  crime  that  the  label  has 
some variety in its roster, and  they  clearly  did  put  some  care 
into smoothing these differences as  much  as  possible.  Where  the 
compilation further impresses is through the interesting  movie-like 
artwork and layout, and especially its multimedia bonuses.  You  get 
well-presented band photos and bio, a  Negura  Bunget  video  (which 
Code666 point out was shot in the Carpathian mountains)  and  a  few 
MP3 bonuses -- including five Aghora  live  tracks  with  reasonable 
sound quality. Code666 clearly worked hard on this,  and  they  have 
succeeded in creating an interesting compilation that constitutes  a 
worthwhile purchase for the general public rather than just  serving 
as a promotional tool.                                               

Contact: http://www.code666.net


Verdict - _Reflections of Pain_  (Independent, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo  (6 out of 10)

The trashy metal presented by Verdict  comes  wrapped  in  a  decent 
sound, and the band  seem  to  be  well  into  what  they're  doing. 
Old-school influences prevail on _Reflections  of  Pain_,  and  I've 
no  doubt  Verdict  are  passionate  about  their  music.  At   some 
stages in the album they come up  with  smart  passages  that  spice 
things up a  bit,  and  the  album  is  generally  quite  energetic. 
However, _Reflections of Pain_ still suffers somewhat from  being  a 
full-length, in the sense that a lot of it is quite generic --  even 
though there's nothing hugely wrong with it, there's hardly anything 
very remarkable during a vast portion of the album either.  Some  of 
these breaks and riffs had their  day  a  bit  too  long  ago,  much 
as Verdict do a  decent  job  with  them.  Verdict  are  technically 
competent, even though the  music  could  be  fuller  (through  some 
busier  percussion,  perhaps),  and  do  manage  to  come  up   with 
relatively fresh-sounding passages as well -- this isn't  a  blatant 
rehash of old days. It just seems to lack something to make it stand 
out from such a huge crowd in the year 2003.                         

Contact: http://www.verdict.de


Ywolf  - _Trilogy of the Night_  (Oaken Shield / Adipocere, 2002)
by: Quentin Kalis  (7 out of 10)

Hungarian Gabriel Wolf is not only the driving force behind  Finnugor
but is also responsible for Ywolf -- and the workaholic  is  involved
in at least two more bands. (He may be recognised by readers for  his
passable remix of  "Painting  My  Horror"  for  Arcturus'  _Disguised
Masters_ remix CD.) Unsurprisingly, this does sound quite a lot  like
Finnugor, despite the lack of any traditional rock instruments:  this
CD is comprised entirely of  vocals,  synths  and  various  classical
instruments.  This  is  a  more  restrained  project  then  Finnugor,
focusing even more on the  creation  of  dark  ethereal  atmospheres.
Vocals are quite varied, ranging from an ineffective distorted scream
to the same gothic vocals utilized  by  Finnugor,  as  well  as  some
eerily beautiful female vocals. The end result is a rather  beautiful
and evocative album that is not nearly as painful  to  listen  to  as
Finnugor, despite the fact that they share the same omnipresent  goth
sensibility. It is impossible to know if this  is  a  truly  original
release, as my exposure to goth -- or even goth-influenced  music  --
is limited. Whatever the case may be, this is an interesting  release
that deserves at least a listen.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                        __, __, _, _  _,  _,
                        | \ |_  |\/| / \ (_ 
                        |_/ |   |  | \ / , )
                        ~   ~~~ ~  ~  ~   ~ 

Scoring: 5 out of 5 -- A flawless demo
         4 out of 5 -- Great piece of work
         3 out of 5 -- Good effort
         2 out of 5 -- A major overhaul is in order
         1 out of 5 -- A career change is advisable


Big Baby Satan - _Big Baby Satan_
by: Aaron McKay  (2.5 out of 5)

This nine track demo is scaled down and took a long time to  actually
get into. Staying in the two minute range with  their  material,  Big
Baby Satan display far too few riffs for such short tracks to capture
my interest. There was one track that stood out on this effort: "Like
the Sun", the demo's sixth cut. That said, it's unfortunate  that  it
took this Long Island, New York outfit that long  into  the  disc  to
make a statement  worth  recognizing  as  distinctive  or  memorable.
While Big Baby Satan doesn't lack in  the  experience  department  --
drawing from other projects like Redshift,  Sorrow,  Wehatejulia  and
Mr. Murray --  a  bit  more  polishing  of  this  three  piece's  low
end rhythm,  especially  in  the  infectious  groove  department  (no
offense Sarsippius!), might be in order. There is  a  "smoky"  appeal
to BBS's  overall  feel  with  clean,  understandable  vocals  and  a
straightforward metal drive, and Mike Hymson's drumming is way  above
average. However, this self-titled demo leaves the  listener  wanting
something more than a re-heated, under-produced Screaming Trees meets
Cathedral travail. Overall, Big Baby Satan's stripped-down sound  and
puerile lyrics, combined with a swag  humor,  are  investments  worth
embellishing to  hopefully  take  Big  Baby  Satan  to  a  level  yet
unattained by this band.

Contact: http://www.bigbabysatan.com


Frantic Bleep - _Fluctuadmission_
by: Pedro Azevedo  (4 out of 5)

With some discs that arrive in my mailbox  it's  just  obvious  it's 
going to be at least a mildly weird experience,  and  Frantic  Bleep 
are one such case. Describing this demo is not easy, as it  mixes  a 
lot of influences  with  considerable  creativity  by  the  band  to 
produce a varied yet consistently unusual result. The music is never 
very extreme and generally hovers  towards  the  experimental,  with 
sound effects and jagged riffs everywhere, but it can get reasonably 
heavy and feature some distorted vocals as well as the  more  common 
clean ones. Some of the guitar and keyboard leads and vocal passages 
vaguely bring to my mind present day Arcturus, some others even more 
vaguely Solefald or the reasonably obscure Oxiplegatz, without  ever 
really being close enough for any of  these  bands  to  really  come 
across as a major influence for Frantic Bleep. These Norwegians  are 
obviously determined  to  do  their  own  thing  and  unleash  their 
creativity. This isn't to say the music is so overly experimental it 
will leave you bewildered  and  confused  throughout;  in  spite  of 
all, it does  remain  reasonably  focused  and  chaos  never  really 
takes control. Sound quality, songwriting complexity  and  technical 
execution are all perfectly acceptable  for  a  commercial  EP,  let 
alone a demo; add to that a considerable level  of  creativity,  and 
I'm impressed.                                                       

Contact: http://www.home.no/franticbleep/


Indesinence - _Ecstatic Lethargy_
by: Pedro Azevedo  (4 out of 5)

A  brief  intro  leads  to  two  tracks  totaling  22   minutes   of 
Indesinence's brand of doom metal, and it soon becomes apparent that 
you will see no sunlight on this one. There is a cavernous sound  to 
the music, both in the abyssic guitars and the vast growls. Bringing 
Evoken to mind, Indesinence punish  the  listener  with  desperately 
bleak riffs and vocals. There is no respite for the duration of  the 
demo, not even when the guitars become less  crushing  and  slightly 
more melodic. Indesinence are serious about their  doom  metal,  and 
aren't about to compromise any of it.  The  production  suits  their 
style very well, the playing is good in spite of the  difficulty  of 
some very slow tempos they  occasionally  use,  and  the  result  is 
remarkably strong through the sheer despondency that  radiates  from 
the music. The music  isn't  snail-paced  throughout,  though:  it's 
mostly a slowish, pronounced mid-paced affair, and Indesinence  even 
include brief outbursts of speed towards the end of the first  track 
after the intro (following what is possibly  the  slowest  and  most 
painful passage of the whole demo) and early in the second. Although 
Evoken is perhaps the main reference, there is  some  old  My  Dying 
Bride thrown into  the  mixture  as  well,  but  Indesinence  retain 
sufficient individuality throughout the demo. Indesinence  leave  no 
doubt that they are fast on their way to becoming a very  good  doom 
metal outfit, but _Ecstatic Lethargy_ is one of  those  demos  worth 
keeping in your collection for what it's worth rather than just  for 
what it promises.                                                    

Contact: indesinence@hotmail.com


Manifold Object - _Mirrorlike_
by: Pedro Azevedo  (3 out of 5)

"Melancholic", "atmospheric" and "progressive". Those seem to be the 
band's three  favourite  adjectives  when  describing  their  music, 
and I can't deny they  fit  the  music  on  _Mirrorlike_.  Finland's 
Manifold Object can go from lightweight progressive metal to  trippy 
atmospheres and back pretty quickly, and certainly  create  a  style 
all their own. Jazz  influences  are  also  apparent,  and  Manifold 
Object include an alto sax in their music every  once  in  a  while. 
There is no question  of  the  band's  technical  skill,  but  their 
sprawling eight minute compositions tend to wander around  aimlessly 
a bit too much for the music's own good. Some more contrast in terms 
of the approach would have been welcome, as the sound is  very  thin 
and atmospheric throughout. The only exception is a harsher  passage 
near the end of the demo where some death-like vocals are  employed, 
but it would have required a stronger sound to really  work.  Still, 
there's no denying atmospheric, progressive  metal  was  the  band's 
goal to begin with. The vocals aren't  bad,  and  don't  become  too 
obtrusive by trying to outshine the musical backdrop, but ultimately 
they add little value to the result. Overall,  Manifold  Object  are 
obviously skilled, but their music still demands  honing  before  it 
can really capture the listener.                                     

Contact: http://www.manifoldobject.cjb.net


Nattstrype - _Where No Life Exists_
Nattstrype - _Skapad Ur Morkrets All Helveteskap_
Nattstrype - _The Art of Misanthropy_
by: Pedro Azevedo  (3 / 3.5 / 4 out of 5)

Nattstrype waste no time in setting their rules: grim  black  metal, 
fast, cold; yet with considerable emphasis  on  guitar  work  and  a 
production that doesn't actually -try- to sound  rotten.  The  first 
demo _Where No Life Exists_ is  mostly  by-the-numbers  Immortal-ish 
black metal, a young band coming up with a pleasant  but  unoriginal 
set  of  tracks.  The  songs  are  technically  competent,  and  the 
songwriting works well on pace changes and remains interesting.  The 
real downside to _Where No Life Exists_ is its lack of  originality, 
which can to a certain degree be forgiven in a band's first demo. In 
some  passages  they  already  show  reasonable  individuality,  but 
overall this is just a passable demo.                                

The band's second demo _Skapad  Ur  Morkrets  All  Helveteskap_,  in 
spite of some production problems and the absence of a  bass  (which 
is actually rather prominent in the first demo), carries a bit  more 
of  a  feeling  of  its  own.  Its  two  tracks  drop  some  of  the 
Immortal cloak, instead bringing to mind _Transilvanian Hunger_  era 
Darkthrone (a bit too strongly in the second track, if you know what 
I mean). This is due to the subdued melodies and a touch of  despair 
that is apparent in the music -- although it still is  quite  a  bit 
more dynamic and less repetitive than the aforementioned  Darkthrone 
disc. Even though the first demo had some good moments, overall  the 
second shows  some  improvement  and  provides  a  more  interesting 
listen. Quite a shame it was cut short at only two tracks and marred 
by production difficulties.                                          

Nattstrype's new demo _The  Art  of  Misanthropy_  moves  things  in 
a  slightly  different  direction  again,  combining  Immortal   and 
Darkthrone influences with more individuality, some doomy  passages, 
and more variety than before. The sound is  quite  good  considering 
this is a black metal demo, and the  playing  is  adequately  tight. 
_The Art of Misanthropy_ strikes me as a combination of most of what 
made the previous demos interesting, consolidated and delivered with 
superior quality and some more unexpected touches. The fast sections 
have been honed, and some work seems to have gone into improving the 
slower passages as well, which are also used  more  frequently  now. 
Nattstrype again manage to come up with some pleasantly icy melodies 
on this  third  demo  and  combine  them  with  those  slower,  more 
atmospheric passages for good effect, creating  a  stronger  overall 
result -- the band is even capable of  closing  the  demo  with  the 
unusual but very moody "Forruttnelsens Kammare". They  aren't  about 
to break any moulds just yet, but if Nattstrype continue progressing 
at this rate, then they are bound to  come  out  with  a  worthwhile 
commercial release any day.                                          

Contact: http://www.nattstrype.cjb.net

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 S H A D O W S    F A L L    O V E R    C O L U M B U S ,    O H I O 
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
          Sunday, March 30: Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH
                          by: Adrian Magers


Thirsty for live music, and pumped full  of  adrenaline  despite  the
abnormally frigid temperature (who turned to burning Everclear flyers
for warmth), a small crowd of central  Ohioans,  myself  among  them,
waited for 7 o' clock with bated breath, anxious to witness the  next
stop of Shadows Fall's first headlining tour  to  begin.  After  what
seemed an eternity, the doors swung open, a crude  line  was  formed,
and the early showing concert-goers streamed in.

Luckily there was little  delay  before  the  first  act,  and  setup
between bands was minimal, as it appeared they were  using  the  same
amplification and only had to switch drum sets, plug in, tune up, and
play. This kept the momentum going and for the most part the show was
flawless as far as equipment and sound goes.  The  Newport  is  built
like a compacted opera hall, so unlike most small  clubs,  the  music
tends to sound less restrained and muffled.

First up was Cephalic Carnage. Though I'd never been a fan  of  their
stop, grind, and go formula chaos, they proved to be an  entertaining
and worthy opener for the mighty Shadows Fall. It  seemed  as  though
the crowd wasn't quite theirs, but  the  sheer  energy  and  surgical
precision they presented won them cheers and polite  clapping.  Their
string section whipped around both heads and instruments, writhed  on
the stage whilst pounding out their brand  of  spastic  riffing.  The
instrument abuse led to two broken strings, one from each  guitarist.
Both were quick about getting back into  the  groove  of  things  and
catching up with their bandmates. Their ambition and talent didn't go
unappreciated, but Cephalic  Carnage  didn't  seem  to  connect  with
the audience. The highlights of  their  set  included  their  opening
rendition of the theme from the cartoon "King of  the  Hill"  leading
into blastbeat mayhem, and their tribute to their Norwegian  brethren
with "Black Metal  Sabbath",  complete  with  corpsepaint  masks  and
synchronized guitar waving.

Next was Unearth from Boston, a band that complicated the  headliners
well. Just when metal hardcore fusion  was  getting  stagnant,  bands
like Unearth give the scene a well-needed kick in the ass.  This  was
their first time in Columbus, and judging  by  crowd  reaction,  Ohio
would welcome them back with open arms. The  combination  of  chunky,
triplet-filled riffs  and  blurring  melodic  Gothenburg-meets-Priest
passages set off applause in the form of flying  hair  and  moshpits,
both circular at times, physically illustrating the  balance  between
the two genres  blended  by  Unearth.  Further  proving  the  comfort
in walking the  line  between  metal  and  hardcore,  they  dedicated
consecutive songs to fans of each genre. These guys are definitely  a
band on their way up, and provided they stay  consistent  with  their
live intensity and well-crafted songwriting, by the time they tour in
support of another album, it might be them headlining.

Shai Hulud played to a divided crowd.  Members  of  the  audience  in
Metallica and Slayer garb (which would include yours truly, donning a
shirt of the latter) looked on in  half-hearted  enthusiasm,  as  the
baseball-capped, hoodie-wearing section screamed back lyrics, letting
their love for  the  band  be  heard  all  throughout  the  set.  One
particular person showed so much audience participation that  at  one
point the Shai Hulud vocalist chucked his microphone into  the  crowd
for an unexpected guest vocal part by an excited fan. Overall though,
I found them to be somewhat mediocre and spent most of their allotted
playing time recovering from the last  band  and  preparing  for  the
next. The overall flow of the concert might have gone slightly better
if Shai Hulud was  second,  and  Unearth  played  direct  support  to
Shadows Fall. However, Shai Hulud is better known and have  been  for
much longer than newcomers Unearth.

The lights dimmed, the stage was set, and all  hell  broke  loose  as
Shadows Fall began a night of crushing melodic neo-thrash  metal.  As
soon as the opening riff of "Of One Blood" kicked in, the crowd  went
absolutely insane, purging their aggression and energy for the  whole
duration of  the  show.  The  band  kept  the  crowd  momentum  going
flawlessly, never missing a beat or resting much between  songs.  The
band's adept playing abilities were  complemented  by  sound  quality
most bar bands would kill for. They performed mostly tracks from last
year's _The Art of Balance_ and threw in  a  couple  of  tracks  from
their second album including "Crushing Belial" and the aforementioned
title track of that CD. It's hard to describe the electricity in  the
air as the band pummeled the intimate Columbus gathering  with  their
beautiful brand of metal. Lead guitarist Jonathan Donais executed his
solos perfectly and, along with fellow guitarist Matthew Bachand  and
bassist Paul Romanko, belted out riff after riff  of  blissful  sonic
malevolence. Jason Bittner held  down  the  beat,  leading  the  band
through the various tempo changes and even threw out a few improvised
fills. Vocalist Brian Fair added his unique voice  over  the  musical
backdrop provided by his bandmates. Shadows Fall  are  a  five-tiered
attack, and they especially show this live. It's not strange  for  me
to feel sore or be in a little pain after a  concert,  but  the  fact
that I stayed out of the pit and in front of  the  stage  the  entire
night speaks volumes about my impression of the show. If you want  to
headbang 'til it hurts, see Shadows Fall on  their  first  headlining
tour, or check them out on the second stage at Ozzfest  this  summer.
Bottom line, these guys are must-see.

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End Chronicles of Chaos, Issue #61

All contents copyright  (c)  1995-2003  by  individual  creators  of 
included work. All rights reserved.
All  opinions  expressed  herein  are  those  of   the   individuals 
expressing them, and do not necessarily reflect the views of  anyone 
else.                                                                

