Impressive, diverse and sinister. The double bass, especially during the “down” part of the cover “Rock Lobster” is murderous. From the first second of the first song, “Turn,” I knew this was it. Self-described as “Horsecore,” this band and this demo show exactly what you can accomplish. Dead Horse are now signed to Big Chief Records, so order this damn fast.

First of all, this is Dark Angel’s second live recording from their Leave Scars LP (the first being on Ultimate Revenge 2), so I don’t see why it was found to be necessary to record this. Anyway, the sound quality is about as good as a live recording can get. Those Westwood One guys know their stuff. The CD contains some extra songs, including a cover of Fear’s “I Don’t Care About You,” which is a cool tune and a break from the relative “sameness” of the other songs. Now don’t get me wrong, I like Dark Angel, it’s just that this album doesn’t capture the energy of their live show. It seems to be missing something, I’m not sure exactly what. Live recordings rarely capture the “feel” of a band.
By the way, the package is very interesting, reminds me of Rigor Mortis’s Freaks, and you also get a “free” sticker. Big fucking deal!
If Dark Angel is one of your favorites, then pick this one up; on CD if you have a player (for the extra songs). [Imagine the days before everyone even had CD players -if you dare! -Editor] If you just want to find out what Dark Angel sounds like, I would suggest getting The Ultimate Revenge 2 video or soundtrack instead.

{Dark Angel was certainly an inspirational band, although this live album wasn’t exactly their crowning achievement. But perhaps even more inspirational than the band is their drummer, Gene Hoglan, who emerged as one of the very top Metal drummers. His deadly skin beating has been featured in such bands as Death, Testament, Strapping Young Lad, and Old Man’s Child, and has influenced legions of drummers worldwide.}

[Notes in {curly brackets} are from the Metal Curse 1 - 4 Collected Edition (1999)]

[Please note that the reviews in Metal Curse #1 and #2 did not have numerical ratings.]

This is the second LP from Danzig, and is no huge departure from the first. One thing that everyone seems to have missed is that this is a concept album: the songs collectively tell a story, at least I think so. I think it’s about someone that is sent to Hell and fights his way back out to say good-bye to his wife or lover, and then is sent back to Hell. Listen to the LP with this in mind and see if you can get all the songs to fit in with the concept. I have an explanation of how I think each one fits, but space prohibits a lengthy interpretation here. I would like to hear what you have to think about this, so send me a letter! [Oh! Back before the days of email and text messages! -Editor] Anyway, most of the songs are what you would expect from Danzig, but there is one that is strictly Blues: “I’m the One.” A ballad, and I mean a real ballad, numbnuts: “Blood and Tears.” And a couple of more experimental tracks: “777” and “Girl.” This LP tries to do a little too much sometimes, combining Blues and Metal along with Glenn’s Punk roots into an original sound. This is a damn fine LP, but it could have been more focused.

{The funny thing about this album is that it was released before Danzig got more well known with their video for “Mother.” But that’s a song from their first album… Weird, huh? And now only Mr. Danzig is left out of his formerly all-star line up, and the Misfits are back together without him. More weirdness. And to top it all off, the latest (although already pretty old by the time of this writing) Danzig album [Blackacidevil -Editor] is a complete departure towards Industrial, I guess you’d call it. I followed Danzig’s career all the way up to this most recent abortion of an album, but it seems that the evil Elvis may have finally lost his dog gone mind.}

[Notes in {curly brackets} are from the Metal Curse 1 - 4 Collected Edition (1999)]

The guys in Cynic, Paul Masvidal (guitar/ vocals), Jason Gobel (guitar), Tony Choy (bass) and Sean Reinert (drums), are all talented enough. The lyrics are well thought out and are interesting even without any music to back them up. These guys are extremely good at what they do: the drums are fast, there is cool bass shit and the guitars are crunchy and heavy and the solos are also great. Vocally Paul sounds similar to Chuck from Death. Unfortunately something stops the songs from being more memorable. The three tracks are all good, but just shy of excellent. It’s cool to see that Cynic spends so much time on their lyrics and I’m glad that they include them with the tape. Well worth checking into.

{After releasing maybe two more demos, this highly technical band was signed to Roadrunner, and released the somewhat under-appreciated album Focus in 1993, which was something of a departure from their earlier Death Metal style. Also, Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert (along with Steve DiGiorgio, on loan from Sadus) later played with Death on their Human album and tour, which was more than a little weird since Tony Choy was playing bass for Death’s opening act on that tour: Pestilence.}

[Notes in {curly brackets} are from the Metal Curse 1 - 4 Collected Edition (1999)]

With 8 songs on a 7-inch and socially conscious lyrics, can you guess the style? Let me spell it out for you: G.R.I.N.D. In much the same vein as early Napalm Death, these guys write short, fast bursts of energy. Occasionally taking a break and going a bit slower only widens their range. And where have I heard “Scum” before?

Cerebral Fix. Interesting name. This bunch plays something between Death and Thrash. Their vocalist, Simon Forrest, is not really raw enough for his vocals to be considered Death Metal, nor do his vocals sound like Thrash. That is, the vocals are kind of screamed and growled. Not a bad idea, but it’s just not done too well. The music, however, is heavy enough. Sometimes they pull off a really good tune, such as “Forgotten Genocide.” For the most part, this album is pretty average, with nothing really standing out, except the aforementioned track. It does have it’s moments, but they are fleeting, and a few really cool lines or riffs can’t make an entire LP.

{Not much to report here. CF had at least one more album after this, and then disappeared for awhile. I believe that they may have somewhat recently released a new LP, but that’s unconfirmed…}

[Notes in {curly brackets} are from the Metal Curse 1 - 4 Collected Edition (1999)]

Catacomb consists of: Andy Cauble (guitar), Kerry Keith (vocals), Tim Killough (bass), John Marlow (drums). They are a rather interesting band. Although this is not the best recording (it was done on a four track) or mix, you can still tell that these are good songs. Catacomb is neither extremely heavy or exceptionally fast, but they have something going for them that a lot of other bands seem to be missing: the songs are catchy. All four songs are easy to get into. My personal favorite is “T.H.S.”. Catacomb reminds me somewhat of early Suicidal Tendencies. They have the will and determination and are good with their respective instruments. All they need is your support and a larger budget. And yes, this demo is free, you just pay for the postage. So what do you have to lose, ya freaks? They also have very cool stickers!!

{As mentioned elsewhere, in the comments for the Ghost Story review, this band didn’t last long after this release, and Andy Cauble teamed up with his brother, Chris, to form the band Monster, which released one demo and then disappeared.}

[Notes in {curly brackets} are from the Metal Curse 1 - 4 Collected Edition (1999)]

These guys occasionally remind me a little of the Misfits. Sometimes it’s more like Billy Idol, but way more raw. Sometimes even a little like Gang Green. Some of the songs are brilliant, such as “Swan Dive” and “Babe Truth.” Both of which were recorded in 1990, along with only 3 other songs. The remaining 5 songs were recorded in 1988. The CD version contains 3 bonus live tracks, which aren’t nearly as exciting as the rest of the LP. I liked all of the studio tracks, and I think the only problem this band might face is the fact that this style sounds, to some, a bit dated. Personally, I like it. But I like a lot of shit. Carnival of Shame is difficult to classify as exactly one kind of music; the song “Christine” could easily go somewhere as a single, but that will never happen. I guess I would hate to see a thirteen-year-old trendy girl with a CoS T-shirt.

This album is, in a word, constant. Not terribly original, or especially creative. But all the songs are crunchy, brutal, and occasionally speedy, Death Metal. It seems obvious to me that the Corpse-men put a lot of themselves into Eaten Back to Life. Everything sounds like they are giving all they can and then a little more. Unfortunately, the songs fall somewhat short of being distinguishable from one another. All the lyrics remind me of slasher films, lots of blood and gore. The vocals are very raw and require a lyric sheet or an incredible tolerance (the lyrics are provided). They do, however, fit perfectly with the music. Several of the songs are extremely good and this shows me that Cannibal Corpse has what it takes. Eaten Back to Life is a good first effort and I think that this band will just need some time to develop a more individual style. I’m glad to see that not all Death Metal comes from Florida (Cannibal Corpse is from Buffalo, New York), and I’m looking forward to hearing more from this band.

{It wouldn’t be too much longer before these sick bastards figured out how to write perfect Death Metal, and released The Bleeding. Then after what looked to be a major obstacle (the loss of frontman Chris Barnes to the band Six Feet Under), they returned with a new growler (George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher), and the only slightly less than perfect Vile, and followed that up with one of the best Death Metal albums of all time, Gallery of Suicide. And somewhere along the way, they gave in to temptation and moved to Florida…}

[Notes in {curly brackets} are from the Metal Curse 1 - 4 Collected Edition (1999)]