Caducity - Whirler of Fate
Very impressive, alternatively Doomy & upbeat Death Metal. This is apparently a concept album, which I guess is kinda cool. And one of the guys has a Motorhead shirt on for his band photo. That’s all I need to know.
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Burzum - Daudi Baldrs (aka Balder’s Dod)
Considering that Varg is still in prison, it comes as no surprise to me that this album is all synths - no guitars, no drums, and no vocals. What is surprising is that there is also a near total lack of “evilness” in this music. It’s certainly not happy, but it’s not exactly dark, either. This would make a good soundtrack for something, but I’m not sure what. In Norse legends, Balder’s death (which is apparently what the music is “about”) signaled the beginning of Ragnarok, so perhaps this album is sort of a calm before the storm of diabolical extremity that will come next. I doubt it, tough. Anyway, if you take this disc alone, and don’t compare it to the other Burzum releases, it’s very enjoyable, but if you’re expecting Black Metal, you’ll be disappointed.
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Broken Hope - Loathing
This is the best Broken Hope so far. They have smartly remembered the need for riffs, and there are some honestly monstrous ones one this disc. The sound is second to none: very clear, but with utterly no loss of brutality or intensity. At a time when some bands are getting more mainstream with every release, it’s nice to see that a band can grow and improve at writing and playing, as well as have continually better production without turning into pussies. The two instrumentals show a more experimental (almost Industrial) side of the band. Also, this album seems to have abandoned a bit more of the goofiness that has so long plagued Broken Hope.
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Broken - Skytorn
When they’re not trying so hard to be original, this is okay. But the clean vocals are not well done, and the overdriven (distorted) growls are far worse. The music is passable Death/Thrash (although there are some pretty weak moments), but the occasionally goofy vox mess things up. And what the fuck is the deal with charging $24 for a CD? That’s a completely outrageous price, and is reflected in the rating. This might be worth a listen, but there’s no way in Hell it’s worth 24 bucks.
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Bralalalala - Well Come to the Galaxy
I wonder if the lead vocalist and lyricist are big Warrior Soul fans? This “Punk-Metal” style is very similar to WS This guy even sounds like a slightly more pissed off Kory Clark. I’m impressed. The music is pretty basic, although a former Heathen guitarist plays on here, but the vocals make this disc. And the lyrics.
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Borknagar - The Olden Domain
Progressive, Goth, Metal, & Black Metal all mixed into one. When this is in a more intense mode (including the vox), it’s great, but sometimes it’s too complicated for its own good. I’m impressed by the ability displayed here, but I’ll likely not remember much of it in an hour.
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Bloodthorn - In the Shadow of Your Black Wings
Bloodthorn integrate their Black Metal with keyboards and female vocals so seamlessly that it seems as if it could be no other way. They also wisely keep the tempo under control, which adds a strong Doom element to their impressive sound. That and the long duration of the songs helps to add to the “epic” feel of this disc. Hopefully we’ll be hearing more from Bloodthorn soon.
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Blood Storm - The Atlantean Wardragon
This blasting Black Metal is almost all drums and vox. I mean the guitars and bass are there (at least I think there’s a bass) but the drums usually totally overpower everything except the heavily effected vocals. Cut the delay, or double tracking, or whatever it is, just cut it! Or at the very fucking least don’t use it every time there are lyrics! The vox would be good if not for this stupid idea. And the all-wind, all-vocal-effects outtro to the first track: it’s not eerie and it does not sound in any way “evil.” “Goofy” is what I thought upon hearing it. When the drums are more simple, that is to say not some kind of blast beat, the guitars have more room in the mix and the music sounds a whole lot better. Too bad that doesn’t happen more often. And too bad about the vocals.
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Blood Ritual - At the Mountains of Madness
Cool fucking CD. Sacred geometry gets me hard. These guys support the Church of Satan and the New Satanic Millennium. But unlike many other bands that sing of Satan, these guys are S.E.R.I.O.U.S! (Super Evil Ritualistic Idolaters of Universal Satanism). The sound of this album is a bit under-polished, but totally diseased in the good way. From start to finish, this is well composed and intense. The varying vocals keep it interesting and serve the dynamics well. My only problem is a printing error in the insert that keeps me from accessing all the lyrics.
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