I’d have to play a few albums back to back to know for certain, but Damage 381 may just be the most memorable Grind LP of all time. A lot of that has to do with the awesome Colin Richardson production, and the familiar and distinctive roar of my pal, Barney Greenway. Don’t get your panties in a bunch though. Screamers Phil and Dean are still extreme noise terrors, and are on this. And now for the really important part: Have ENT gone Metal, or in some other way sold out? Not unless you count having a clear, heavy sound. One listen to the total fucking all out, balls to the wall Grind of the title track will put all doubts to rest, and all doubters in their graves.

When I heard that Exodus reformed with their original singer, Paul Baloff, I shot blood out of my fuckin’ eyes. I stopped everything I was doing to play this live disc the instant it arrived. Interesting to note that the only songs on this are those written when Baloff was first in the band. I’m glad to see that “Pleasures of the Flesh,” “Seeds of Hate,” “Brain Dead,” and “Impaler” are included. But… Maybe I expected too much. Maybe I was hoping for perfection. Maybe Paul & co. have been listening to too much Machinehead. Baloff’s comments about how “heavy” everything is made me think that he was smoking crack between songs. I’m really mixed about this. How can I say anything bad about songs I’ve listened to and loved for more than a decade? And yet how can I say anything good about Exodus acting like they are mentally handicapped? They seem as if they’re making fun of the fans and themselves. If you cut out the between-song lameness, and Paul altering/adding to/forgetting/ad libbing/Rapping the lyrics, then this would rule. But as is, it’s just a band with a “heavy” guitar sound covering the legends. If they record a new LP, I’ll bet that it sounds like Pantera with some Rap influences - and it hurts me to print that, but not as much as it does to listen to this. I hope that Exodus prove me wrong and put out a great album of new material. But they won’t. By the way, Bonded by Blood is as perfect an album as has ever been recorded, so if you need some Exodus (and you do), then get that, but leave this to the dogs.

The reformed Exciter starts this CD off by stealing, umm, I mean “borrowing” an ancient Exodus riff. At least it’s a good one. I was needlessly worried that they might try to “update” their style as other bands have recently, but I’m very glad to report that Exciter have more or less retained their traditional Thrash sound. Old Exciter devotees should love this, as will fans of quality Thrash. Long live the loud!

Traditional Metal that’s occasionally extremely good.

[Metal Curse #11 had an additional loose page (“Last Second Additions”) inserted into the centerfold of the zine, featuring a bunch of even-shorter-than-usual “bonus” reviews of stuff that arrived after the deadline for that issue. This is one of those “Last Second Additions” reviews.]

This is Ewigkiet’s debut album, recorded in 1997 and it’s quite hard to find here in the States (as is just about anything Neat Records releases these days). There is a newer album out there somewhere as well, but I’ve yet to see a copy. After looking at the cartoonish cover art, I’m tempted to say that I know the reason why this band’s albums are so hard to find. This has to be one of the lamest covers I’ve ever seen. Musically, however, the band makes up some ground lost by the visually unappealing cover art. Ewigkeit sounds like a cross between Rotting Christ and Dimmu Borgir. The vocals and some of the guitar work remind me of the Thrashier side of Rotting Christ, but for the most part this is keyboard-heavy Black Metal. Granted, there are some progressive elements on this album that are good. I like Mr. Fogarty’s willingness to experiment and go all-out for the atmosphere rather than just play Black Metal by the numbers. This experimentation, however, is marred by the fact that the guitars (electric, not acoustic) are low in the mix and very thin sounding. Honestly, what’s the point of having guitars if you can’t make out the riffs clearly? Other than that, this is a good start and if I happen to find their new album, I’ll definitely pick it up because Ewigkiet has aroused my curiosity to see if they’ve taken this style even further.

The only flaw with this CD is it’s length. Or lack thereof. At only 26 minutes, I’m hard pressed to really call this a full-length LP. Other than that, I’m hard pressed to call it anything short of flawless Death Metal. Like Slayer, I’ll bet these freaks play faster in the studio than at practice, and so the duration is explained. At any rate, Evilution prove that traditional Death Metal is still thriving. The speed, the crushing riffs, the punishing drumming - they have all the talent they need, and know how to best use it. But it’s the rawer-than-thou vox that really put them over the top. Josh is truly brutal, and I don’t think he gives a fuck if anyone can understand what he’s saying or not. Sometimes (like here) that’s a plus. It’s a near-perfect combination that’s destined to deafen.

The Thrashy Black/Death on this CD is very often amazing. These guys have a real gift for writing catchy rhythms. I assure you that you’ll remember this after a single listen. And I’m still discovering new bits of interest after many listens. My only complaint is not even with the band at all, but with Metal Blade. As with all of their licensed releases, the packaging is terrible. It looks as if they just scanned the original booklet and traycard into their computer and then overlaid the Metal Blade stuff over the old Invasion Records info. The song titles are even partially obscured on the back of the traycard by some fuckin’ skull/sword graphic. And since there is no lyric sheet, I guess Metal Blade must not want anyone to know the names of half their songs. If I were The Everdawn, I’d be pissed. They’re a talented band and deserve better treatment than this. A note to Metal Blade: For future licensed (or otherwise) releases, hire me to do the layouts, then everyone will love them.

I’m not sure that I see as much of an Emperor influence here as Ychoril does in his review of Lacrima Mundi. Evemaster seem to be more calmed down, even using some fairly mellow passages to heighten the dynamics, and never seem to get as fast as Emperor at least used to get. However, far from detracting, these qualities allow Evemaster to have an individual sound, which is of paramount importance.

Fast Black Metal with Cronos lending a lung on two tracks.

[Metal Curse #11 had an additional loose page (“Last Second Additions”) inserted into the centerfold of the zine, featuring a bunch of even-shorter-than-usual “bonus” reviews of stuff that arrived after the deadline for that issue. This is one of those “Last Second Additions” reviews.]