Archeon - End of the Weakness
Power Metal with harsh Thrash vocals is significantly more tolerable than that of the Glam fag vocal variety, but it’s still Power Metal nonetheless. I still get visions of Rocky training when I hear it. If you crave the Polish answer to Children of Boredom, here it is.
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Anubis Rising - Funerary Preamble
A tough chore for any critic here. I really like what this band is doing, yet their style is near impossible to describe let alone categorize. This disc is a compilation of efforts featuring The Funerary Preamble EP (2004), The Scales of Truth EP (2002), three cuts from the Uphill Battle split (2001), and a previously unreleased Eyehategod cover. I don’t know how this original act has evaded my watchful eye for the past five years, but better late than never. Very Sludgey, spacious, and downtrodden with gritty, sometimes Blackened screams and occasional Death growls. Every now and then they will drift away into Space Rock, sometimes bordering on shoegazing atmosphere, intact with decent clean vocals. Other times things escalate into full-on mosh territory, but the underlying melancholy and despair is always present. Truly difficult to pigeonhole but not to enjoy, if you can imagine elements of Eyehategod, Neurosis, Burst, Cave-In, Opeth, The Great Deceiver, and Asunder all rolled into one you’re on the cusp of contemplation. Creative and original, just fucking check it out.
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Angel Dissection - Necrogenesis: Machines of Divinity and Dismemberment
This trio sound like they are more than capable of crafting a catchy Black/Death tune, but their self-financed CD is crippled by heinous production. I sympathize, Adversary’s first proper demo tape was also handicapped by a razor thin, torn speaker distortion. Time and money could turn Angel Dissection from pretenders to contenders. Note to self: never take corpse-painted, weapon-bearing band photo in broad daylight in what I have a hunch is a public park… potentially after school.
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Alienation Mental - Psychopathicolorspectrum
Here’s a shocker for you, really weird Grindcore from the Czech Republic. Didn’t see that coming did you? Very similar to countrymates Cerebral Turbulency and the legendary Four Seats for Invalides, except weirder. Pretty good, but I’m not digging the Korn elements at all. I can’t say I get it, but I guess that’s the whole idea. What the hell are they smoking over there?
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Aletheian - Dying Vine
All religions make me wanna throw up. All religions make me sick. All religions make me wanna throw up. All religions suck. They all claim that they have the answer, when they don’t even know the question. They’re just a bunch of liars. They just want your money. They just want your consciousness. All religions make me wanna BLEAH! They really make me sick. They really make me ill.
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Agents of Man - Count Your Blessings
Former and current members of worthless Old School bands like One 4 One, Bulldoze, Train of Thought, Cold as Life, and Sworn Enemy try to put food on the table by blending their dated Wiggercore with Emo and Pop. Try to imagine a more radio-friendly Freya going toe-to-toe with Hoobastank if you can do so without throwing up. Sorry, this fish isn’t biting. Try the Sevendust crowd.
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The Accursed - Seasons of the Scythe
Mediocre, melodic Thrash with hints of Swedish Black Metal. Well-played but minus a shred of memorability. I am told this band actually signed their record contract in their own blood. At least they’ll be remembered for something.
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Absent Society - The Plastic Parade
Musically the band churns out a relentlessly mediocre stream of boring Thrash, recycled Metalcore, and tired Machine Head idolatry. Vocally the band sounds confused. Imagine Fred Durst trapped in Mike Patton’s body intermittent with a standard scream. The disc is not crippled by a lack of talent or solid execution, but rather an underlying sense of desperation that lends itself to dullness.
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Above This Fire - In Perspective
It is rare that the Life Sentence label lets me down. Considered a seal of quality in underground Hardcore circles, especially the Straight Edge scene, the label has become a launching pad for many aspiring careers in the Metalcore genre. As of late they seem to have become a training camp for the Trustkill Records roster. Eighteen Visions and It Dies Today both got their cherries popped on Life Sentence. All that said, Above This Fire don’t really light my flame. They play Old School Hardcore with irritating, higher-pitched, talk-shouted vocals. Musically this is decent, I suppose. Fast, simple and catchy with a good deal of melody, but nothing that’s going to make the heart stop, and the vocals quite frankly are too big an obstacle to hurdle. This sounds like the crap that Victory was signing in the early ’90s. Still, I can count the number of times Life Sentence has disappointed me on one hand (keep your ears peeled for With Dead Hands Rising, Wings of Scarlet, Nientara, and Tears from the Sky).
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