Other than the extremely rare lame high-pitched scream, this is a fine example of memorable Death Metal.

Much like their previous album (I hear both were recorded around the same time but released almost a year apart), Morbid Fascination of Death sounds a lot like Celtic Frost. The whole thing just reeks of Frost, down to the production. The guitar tone has that familiar sound to it and the only other place I’ve heard it was on Morbid Tales. Carpathian Forest isn’t a direct Frost clone, however. There are other elements that play with the traditional Frost sound though none of it really changes the fact that you can tell who the most glaring influence is. There is a bit more experimentation here and there on Morbid Fascination of Death, but on the whole, if you liked the stuff this band has done since Black Shining Leather, you’ll probably enjoy this album too. The standout stuff for me is the darker, more atmospheric stuff they do towards the end. Track 7, “A World of Bones,” in particular struck me as being able to capture a feeling of darkness, nihilism and a touch of pure evil somewhere inside it. The music is slower, and the atmosphere is heavier. Unfortunately, they immediately throw off the vibe by making the next song (“Carpathian Forest”) sound so much like Sodom that you’d swear that Tom Angelripper was guesting on the album. They then go back to the dark, atmospheric stuff with “Cold Comfort” (a track that features a saxophone, of all things…). As a collection of songs, this is quite good. As a full album, however, these guys still have a ways to go before they can come up with a “complete” album - one that actually goes somewhere instead of being just a collection of tunes. They seem to be getting closer but when you start to build an atmosphere, you want to continue with that vibe rather than throw a song so completely opposite it right afterward. If there is any one fatal flaw in this album, that’s it.

Remember the old Death Metal band Cadaver? This is the reincarnation of that outfit for the new millennium. What are they like? High-speed Death/Thrash in the vein of Angelcorpse, but not quite as earth-shattering. Maybe it’s overexposure, but a snare drum being rapped 200 MPH no longer is enough to sustain my interest. Not that I don’t appreciate their extremity - I certainly do - but the faster tunes on this LP are easily forgettable. Some songs like “Kill Tech,” “Rupture,” and “Point Zero” are a little easier to get into with their sinister mid-paced riffing, and the vocalist has a decent snarl, but most of this album is a blur. Most definitely par listening for any speed freak, but it needs to be more memorable, more dynamic. Nonetheless, good to see more veterans back in action.

For those of you floored by the vast extremity and technical precision of this Death Metal supergroup’s debut, Eve of the Entities, expect nothing less than the same with this dynamic follow up. Richard Christy’s phenomenal drum work is unparalleled, and the drill sergeant-like hollering of Jamie Prim hasn’t changed at all. It doesn’t get much more intense or instrumentally dazzling than Burning Inside. It’s hard to believe that one of the dorks in Iced Earth could be in a band this awesome.

The Bronx Casket Co. features D.D. Verni and Tim Mallare of Overkill, Jack Frost of Savatage, Charlie Calv of Shotgun Symphony, and ex-Misfits singer Myke Hideous [When was this guy in the Misfits?!? - Editor] who now goes by the name “Spy.” The press release describes their music as Goth/Doom Metal. There is a Goth element, but I don’t think there is all that much of a Doom presence. These guys are somewhat of a more Hard Rock version of Type-O Negative minus the deep vocals. Spy delivers a superb vocal performance nevertheless. Clear production gives the guitars a good sound. Well-done creepy keyboard passages lurk in the background and don’t dominate the songs. Although Sweet Home Transylvania is a little too average to be something I would normally listen to, it is fairly decent music, and fans of Type-O Negative should definitely give it a try.

This is album number three for France’s Blut Aus Nord and the first in a number of years. Something about this album is soulless. It just feels dark and fucking evil. I don’t know if it has something to do with the sound or the feeling but something just doesn’t feel “right” about The Mystical Beast of Rebellion. It’s almost like sitting in a room with a serial killer who is getting his kicks by fucking with your head. For a Black Metal album, that’s a good thing. The guitars on this album are dissonant and churning, like a dense fog or a rough sea. It’s almost hypnotic, in a way. The drum sound is kind of odd, like they glued a quarter or something onto the bass drum to get a strange clicking sound instead of a deeper tone. The snare tone is deep, though. I found it odd that they would do this, but even stranger is the fact that it works for them. The pacing is generally slower and more atmospheric though the atmosphere is generated from the guitars rather than any keyboards. There are brief interludes of weird sounds or dead silence before the music kicks in again which sometimes heightens the tension or just shocks you when things get rolling once again. From what I could figure out, this album is supposed to be a concept piece as the tracks have the same title, just different chapter numbers attached to it. No lyrics are enclosed and the inlay book, while having six pages (not including the cover and the back), is composed mostly of blank, black pages. Strange? Yes. Good? Definitely.

This album starts off with the usual atmospheric intro that blasts into some furious Black/Death Metal that kind of reminds me a bit of Thornspawn or Summon. The music is more in line with an American Death Metal take on the European Black Metal sound which comes off a bit heavier and a bit less melodic but still powerful. Vocally, this is raspy Black Metal style delivery mixed with occasional Death growls and multi-tracking. The production is fairly clear though there are parts where the drumming overpowers the guitars. Though I can hear everything pretty well, I still think the guitars could be turned up a bit more because they seem to lack volume compared to the rest. I also think that a rawer sound would have helped this a bit more, because Storms of Apocalypse sounds a bit on the sterile side. I don’t know if the band is just not into it enough or if the clean sound sucked some of the life out of this, but I know for sure that this should be more intense and mayhemic. This is still a band to look out for and if this release is anything to go by, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

This Norse horde is back again for their third full-length release (they also have a split “versus” album with …and Oceans), and when you compare it to their previous two discs, this is almost a complete 180 degree turn from what they were doing before. They’ve gone from being an epic, atmospheric Black Metal band to being a brutal as fuck quasi-atmospheric Death Metal band - and it kicks fucking ass, too! The guitars are thick and powerful, the drumming is tight and as far as production qualities go, this is some seriously awesome sounding shit. When the synth kicks in, there is an element of atmosphere, but you can clearly tell that the intention was to keep the keyboards in the background this time around. This is a guitar based album, not a keyboard-heavy one. There are some sound effects between songs that sort of connect all of the tracks, but I’m not really sure if there is a significance to them or not. Yes, the sounds of people screaming and shit getting shot up and explosions sound cool, but is there a purpose? I guess I’m going to have to read the lyrics again to see if there’s a theme… There is even a cover of Mayhem’s “Deathcrush,” and though it seems a bit out of place on this album, it does sound pretty good (when compared to the original). I thought, however, that they could have tweaked it out a bit more and made it more of a Bloodthorn sounding song than sticking so closely to the original. All in all, a very solid release by a very talented band.

Recorded once again at Sunlight Studios, the considerably upped level of brutality is immediately evident with Skullcrusher. The approach here places more emphasis on Death Metal than Black Metal this time around, and it definitely works to Bloodshed’s advantage. These four tracks are heavier, faster, and more aggressive than those on the Laughter of Destruction demo. Glenn’s vocals are deeper and more sinister as well. In fact, the overall production is more polished and effective especially where the drumming and guitar riffs are concerned. Bloodshed seem to be improving exponentially. Their debut album should be nothing short of brilliant.