Dominion3 - The Hand and the Sword
This band is the side project of two of the members of Dargaard, Tharen and Elisabeth Toriser. Most of the ads and promo copy I’ve seen of this band calls them Darkwave. I’d say they were closer to being Dark Ambient or keyboard based Industrial than Darkwave, because Darkwave tends to sound like Disco music with Gothy “oh my life is so fucked up” lyrics. A good example of a Darkwave band is Depeche Mode. Does Dominion3 sound anything like Depeche Mode? I think not. Dominion3 sounds much more like a cross between Mortiis, Plasma Pool (without Attila’s evil vocals) and a Gothic band in the vein of Dead Can Dance. There are some “Blackish” moments where the Black Metal roots of the band show through. The music itself is very listenable and there is some definitely dark atmosphere generated here. This is one for the Gothy folks to pick up.
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Dominion Caligula - A New Era Rises
Masse Broberg is back again with this side project of Dark Funeral (don’t worry, folks, he’s still in Dark Funeral) and though I enjoy Dark Funeral a lot, I like this band more. In a way, this is everything that Dark Funeral isn’t, while still remaining in the realms of Black Metal. Where Dark Funeral is fast and furious, Dominion Caligula is slower and heavier. There is also more atmosphere, female vocals and keyboards - things that you’ll probably never see in Dark Funeral. According to what I’ve heard, this is a concept album based on the life of the Roman emperor Caligula, though the only thing I have to rely on is song titles and hearsay as no lyrics are enclosed. Masse’s vocals are as rabid and evil as ever though they don’t really sound any different than those found on Dark Funeral’s releases. Musically, this album has a lot going for it. There are lots of memorable songs, great riffs and neck-snapping brutality all over the place. There are even some flashy guitar solos, a rare thing in Black Metal these days. Overall, this album fucking shreds and if you had to choose between this album and the new Dark Funeral, I’d advise you to go sell some of your blood plasma so you can afford both.
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Domain / Demonized - Hellbirth
After a long, slowly-building intro, Domain unleashes vicious Black Death Grind such that I checked to see if they’re from Australia (they’re actually Mexican). Demonized is similar, but perhaps a slightly more Black Metal vocal style. And they do an absolutely brutal cover of “Metal Church.”
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Divine Empire - Doomed to Inherit
Where do you go after an awesome debut album like Redemption? You could try to figure out a way to improve on it, and either somehow succeed, or totally fuck up everything. Most bands seem to identify the wrong elements as being their “weak links” and end up making a real mess of things, while all too few ever manage to top themselves time after time. Or, trying to avoid disaster, you could go the safer route, and more or less make Part 2. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not intended to be any type of insult. Doomed to Inherit is an excellent album, full of great, sometimes-Thrashy-sometimes-Deathy riffs and amazing drumming, just as their debut was.
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Dismember - Hate Campaign
This sees Dismember getting a little more melodic than on previous releases. Does that mean that the mighty Dismember, the last remaining brutal Death Metal band from the early Swedish Death Metal boom, has finally wimped out? Fuck no! This album still crushes. Unlike so many other bands that have disappeared, changed sounds, or just plain wussed out, Dismember still delivers the fucking goods in the old Swedish overdriven Sunlight Studios way. This time, there are a couple new members, most notably Sharlee D’Angelo (who is probably in a dozen bands now, including Witchery and Mercyful Fate) on bass, replacing Richard Daemon who left to join Satyricon, but has now apparently disappeared off the face of the earth. I have to say that with the newer approach, incorporating a little melody and some ripping guitar solos, is something that I really enjoy. There are more hooks on this album than on a gill net. If you like your Death Metal in the older Swedish vein (no guitar harmonies, overly melodic riffs or half-assed attempts at Black Metal), then Hate Campaign is definitely for you. Now if only Unleashed would listen to this and get heavier and more brutal…
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Disgust (France) - In Aeternum…
This is not the Crust band, but rather a brutal, Suffocation-like Death Metal band from France. These songs don’t stick with you too much after they’re over, but while it’s playing, this is just total annihilation.
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Disgorge (Mexico) - Forensick
Ultra-brutal Gore Grind with down-tuned guitars, non-stop blasts, and completely indecipherable vocals. Extremely loud and fast, and utterly lacking in variation. Hard to tell where one song stops and another begins. I like quite a few brutal Death Metal bands, and Disgorge is heavy-as-hell, but there just isn’t anything memorable about this album. They have potential, though.
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Diesel Machine - Torture Test
The real “torture test” here was to see if I could stand listening to this entire album of “tough guy” queerness. I could not.
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Dies Ater - Through Weird Woods
These German maniacs have put together an album of symphonic and brutal Black Metal that stands out from the crowd. A good point of reference would be Emperor’s masterpiece In the Nightside Eclipse. Dies Ater, however, do not place as much emphasis on the keyboards as their Norwegian counterparts did on their aforementioned album. And I actually think that Through Weird Woods has the better production of the two. Vocalist Nuntius Tristis has an incredibly grim singing style that adds a strong dose of brutality to the cold, bleak atmosphere of this release which includes six songs, an intro, and an outro. The guitars have a much better production than what is normally found on a typical Black Metal album. And you can forget that paper-thin drum sound. The drumming here is so thunderously clear that your walls will shake! The song-structures vary in complexity and tempo ensuring that no two songs sound the same. No chance of boredom here. Hell, the title-track alone is worth the price of this album!
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