I've just reviewed Burial Hordes, Torch Of Darkness is again a Black Metal band, but a totally different one. ToD was formed last year and this is their debut demo, a 5 tracks (23 minutes) piece of desperation with some of the most interesting vocals in the genre. Maybe there are other bands using these kinds of vocals, but I don't know of any: extremely high-pitched, distorted, almost industrial-like screams that curiously enough are very good mixed with the instrumental part and mastered so that they seem normal (such vocals would make me throw the CD in the trash bin if they were unmastered. The CD contains 3 of their own songs and 2 covers (Blood Angel from Von and Ea, Lord of the Depths from Burzum). The first track is a slow paced suicidal black metal with raw sound, the second one is a combination of fast and mid-paced rhythms, and the last sums them all. The drums should have been a bit more in front because at some points you can barely hear them.
A good start, but they have much more potantial, I'm still in awe of those vocals. Give them a try.
Band: TRIPPY WICKED & THE COSMIC CHILDREN OF THE KNIGHT
Country: UK
Title: Moving on
Label: Selfreleased
Year: 2009
Style: Stoner Doom
Review:
The band with one of the all time greatest band names of all time is "Trippy Wicked and the Cosmic Children of the Knight" and this their debut full length album called "Movin On". While the name may seem comical, this is one heavy-duty doom laden album complete with a excellent album cover that I could stare at all day. The band is as about as solid as you will find within this genre of music and they are also have many elements that set them apart from other bands and I will get to those points later. Trying to describe the band is not really that easy, they crossover from Electric Wizard style Stoner Doom to Kyuss style Desert Rock to Classic Black Sabbath sounding 70's Rock and everything in-between. The vocals of Pete Holland (who also handles the guitar work) has a Ozzy-esque sound to it but more powerful than anything the Oz was capable of in his hey-day. The churning crunch of the guitar and bass is thick as mud and drumming is exceptionally solid and pounding. The title track hits in your face with a guitar attack that is as fierce as it is sleazy and by the time you get to track three "Fire" you will be suck into the swirling riffing. They do have some unusual quirks to their sound however, the acoustic guitar ending of "Sea Shanty" comes in when you least expect and the trumpet on "Southern" may leave you scratching your head and asking why but that is the beauty of this album. Quirky Stoner Doom music experimentation, parts of it can even sound bluesy which sounds so different for a band playing within the context of "Stoner Rock". God, I am getting sick of that term but I will move on. "Echoes" is slightly perplexing as it sounds at odds with the rest of the album, at first I wasn't sure if it belong on the album but after further spins it has turned into one of my favorite tracks on the album. It has a Psychedelic, haunting beginning before moving into a more traditional heavy riff rocking section. This is one of the tracks on the album where the blues element comes through but that pops up on a few other tracks as well, just some less obvious. One of the strong points of the album is the variety of sounds and musical textures they manage to weave in and out throughout the CD which means it is going to be a album that is hard to get tired off. "Innocence" kicks off one hellish bass sound before the monster riff engulfs all in its wake, this is the band in total Doom mode and it kills. "Not What You Know" rocks like a son of a bitch, kinda reminding me of Orange Goblin at their most punishing. A real exercise in head snapping metal and the fun continues on the next track "Clothes On My Floor" where the band shifts gears into boogie mode."The Water" is more of Trippy Wicked's approach to Stoner Blues, a good track but not really up to the standard of the rest of the album and the whistling part is a bit off-putting. Thankfully they launch back into the big riff at around the 3 minute mark that saves the tune from the skip button. Final track is "Because Of You" and brings back things to the Sludge/Stoner groove, a great way to finish the album. The lyrics on the album are also different for a Stoner/Doom/Sludge Rock band as they are personal, heartfelt and actually meaningful ( shock-horror ). It is refreshing to hear a band take that lyrical approach for a change. I guess the band could be put alongside other quirky bands within the UK Doom/Stoner scene like The Lamp Of Thoth for example but they really are a band with a certain uniqueness that is hard to compare. You also get the feeling when listening to this, the band really enjoy what they are doing as it has a positive vibe about it. Check this band and album out, I think you will dig it.
Reviewed by Ed
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Band: VERHEXT
Country: Finland
Title: Disgust & Misanthropy
Label: Death Worm records
Year: 2009
Style: Raw Black Metal
Review:
From the first few bars of opening and title track ‘Disgust & Misanthropy’, Verhext’s 2009 demo greeted me with fine cold melodics and a strong vocal punch, and I knew exactly where I was – in the dark recesses of Finnish black metal hell! The guitar and vocal tones are nicely caustic and grittily anologue in feel, and I must say that the more times I listen to this demo the more I like it.
Unfortunately it’s not all Lapin Kulta beer and skittles however… ‘Disgust & Misanthropy’ is very clearly a demo, with all the imperfections that implies. The drums tend to veer most of the time towards the ‘Black and Roll’ variety, and unfortunately not in a good way. They seem to dominate this release - not in the mix but more in the feel of it. It may just be me, but they do kind of plod along, sometimes struggling to keep up with the guitars; I wondered at first whether this was the guitar track getting a bit over excited, but realised that the drummer couldn’t really hold the pace.
The song writing is generally pretty good overall, but my one criticism is that there’s a kind of one dimensionality that smothers the feel of this release. Three songs are enough for this demo to maintain an enjoyable listen, but it simply wouldn’t yet be an interesting enough blend for a full length. ‘Disgust & Misanthropy’ is in many ways a fairly ordinary bit of black metal with nods in all the right places – Behexen sensibilities and an early Watain groove – and the recording is pretty scruffy around the edges, but that said it does bode very well for a future release.
If you ache for a little variety and originality this might not light your back candle, but for those seeking to reinforce their already grim spirits, Verhext might well be worth a listen.
Reviewed by M.
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Band: VINTERSKUGGE
Country: France
Title: Dux Normanniae
Label: Naturmacht Prod.
Year: 2009
Style: Black Metal
Review:
"Dux Normanniae" is Vinterskugge's debut demo, out last month on Naturmacht Prod. I haven't heard of this band before I've met their music on Naturmacht's space, they are pretty young as a band, formed only last year, and this is their first effort, a Demo CD containing 6 tracks in a bit more than 40 minutes of playing. I would define their music as '90's type Underground Black Metal with Atmospheric keyboards background almost everywhere. Don't know if this is how they wanted their demo to sound, but certainly it has the raw, primitive recording touch of the demos that were everywhere in the second part of the '90's. The production tends to follow the same line, so maybe after all this is how they wanted it to be. I like their music, it's grim, has the right amount of melody and seems pretty honest, but still I would recommend this demo only to the ones of you who are not expecting a top release. The instrumental execution needs some more practice, the tracks need a better recording and there should be a better mixing and mastering of the whole to be prepared for a debut full-length, but the good thing is that this demo shows a good appetite for composing, it never gets monotonous or boring. It's a pretty cheap release (5 Euros), and also limited to 100 copies, so it won't hurt to support this band and label.
Reviewed by Adrian
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Band: WHITE EYES
Country: Germany
Title: Beast Mode
Label: Blastasfuk Prod.
Year: 2009
Style: Grindcore
Review:
Man, I haven't had the pleasure to listen to an album perfectly named in a lot of time (if I've ever had it...). The title of this release is fuckin' perfect and who thought of it should be proud. Don't know much about the band, except that they have released an EP before this debut full-length. This album is absolutely insane, reaching new hights in brutality and violence: absolutely insane progressive guitar rhythms, indus/electro inserts to spice things up, fabulous drummer, sick and absolutely demented screamer (growler from time to time), a systematic pile up of violence and adrenaline, nothing more to say. I do really recommend this release to ALL of you out there into grindcore, this will satisfy your thirst for "new". Great band! Hope to get an intie with them to find out more about this release. Until then, get it!
Reviewed by Adrian
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Band: WHOREHOUSE
Country: Poland
Title: Execution of Humanity
Label: Defense Prod.
Year: 2009
Style: Thrash Metal
Review:
I've got this CD at a gore grind fest, never expected it to be a Thrash Metal release, and especially looking at their band name... Whorehouse comes from Poland, was formed back in 1995 and until now they have released 3 demos. "Execution of Humanity" is their debut full-length, after listening to it I'm really glad I received for a review. This is a high-class Thrash Metal release that can compete anytime with any German or US release of the genre. 10 tracks inteligently composed that will satisfy any Thrash Metal maniac: fast and aggressive parts combined with melodic elements, blasting drums, great, US type vocals, fat and extremely catchy guitars,clever guitar solos, crystal-clear sound, beautiful cover artwork, a perfect blend of ald-school with modern Thrash Metal. An excellent debut for these Polish guys, I'm sure they'll have a bright future.
Execution of Humanity is one of those releases that after a couple of listenings you find yourself humming a chorus or even a guitar riff. Heavy headbanging required when listening!
Reviewed by Adrian
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Band: WINE FROM TEARS
Country: Russia
Title: Through the Eyes of a Mad
Label: Bad Moon Man Music
Year: 2009
Style: Doom Death Metal
Review:
Wine From Tears album is called "Through the Eyes Of A Mad" so I am not sure how good their English is but the sound of band is another good dose of sorrowful Doom Metal in the vein in of Katatonia, Candlemass, Draconian, My Dying Bride and Saturnus.
Released on Solitude Productions who seems to be the leaders at the moment for this style of Gothic type Doom, the songs have the usual epic feel that so many bands on the label specialize in. The music is filled with a glorious elegant sound infused with deep growls and haunting piano refrains and distorted guitars and a wall of sound coming from the bass and drums. In a world where there it seems like there is a million bands playing this style ( especially in Europe ), the band have put their own stamp on proceedings by avoiding the obvious cliches but still remaining firmly in the epic Gothic doom genre. The songs are a epic journey through grief and doubt, suffering and hope, while giving the tunes a almost cosmic feel. They also combine a lot of variation within the music from classical passages to faster sections to beautiful parts like in the breath-taking "Bless The Bleeding Angels" which is as scary as it is dramatic. The guitar work is very technical for a Doom band and sounds like they maybe are fans of John Petrucci, some of the breaks are very intricate but fit in well within the context of the arrangement of the songs. However sometimes it goes a little overboard with solos being played over the top of sections that might have been more effective if left alone. The band started in 2002 but this is the debut album from them but listening to the album gives off the impression they have work on these songs for a long time. The thing that spoils the album for me however is the band seems to be stuck in the 90's a little bit too much and at 77 minutes long, the band seems to be treading the same path in every song so its real hard to listen to start to finish. The other negative comment I must make is the keyboards just never shut up, mixed way too loud and overdone to the max. Best track for me is "Feeding the angel" which offers beautiful female vocals interacting with the main male growls, this can be irritating sometimes but they pull it off quite well in this band. Overall its a good effort but way too long with too many songs sounding the same and some over-done guitar and keyboard work that spoils the atmosphere. At its best, it is a breath-taking journey into darkness and despair but too many weak passages and average mixing wrecks the album. If they cut the album back to 50 minutes or so and did a re-mix this could be a incredible album.
Reviewed by Ed
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Band: WINTERBLOOD
Country: Italy
Title: Incantazione
Label: Witchcraft Records
Year: 2009
Style: Dark Ambient
Review:
Winterblood is an Italian project that seems to be founded back in 1996, but their demos until 2008 are nowhere mentioned, so I don't know about that. Anyway, this one is their second album, out on Witchcraft Records. It's composed of 2 tracks (40 minutes) of Minimalist Dark Ambient music. At least the first tracks it's so minimalist (not more than 4 repeating notes for 20 minutes) that honestly I had to skip more than 10 minutes from it. After about 14 minutes it becomes more interesting, but still on the same simple path: 3 or 4 key notes (same notes) and monotonous synth background. The second track is just a bit more varied, but keeps the same monotonous level. I guess it's good for meditation, for a trance so I won't say it's bad, just that it's not for my tastes. The good point in Winterblood's music is the crystal clear sound, so this is not a rough, amateurish production, we're dealing with a high-class album in what concerns production.
If you're into minimalist music, try it yourselves, you might curse me afterwards for what I said in this review, who knows?
Reviewed by Adrian
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